WELLSTON, Mo. – Normandy High School in St. Louis County will now require ID cards for all students after someone allegedly posed as a student and attacked a girl in a school restroom.
In an earlier report when the suspect was still at large, FOX 2 discovered most students did not have IDs, and there was no requirement to show them to enter school.
The Normandy Schools Collaborative sent the following message to parents on Thursday about the policy change:
“All students who have recently attended school have been issued school ID badges. Beginning tomorrow, Friday, October 7, all Normandy High School students must have an ID badge to attend school. We are taking this step to ensure the safety of all students. Students who arrive at school without a badge will be allowed into the school building but placed in a room separate from the student population and remain there until they are picked up, or their badge is brought to them by a family member. No exceptions will be made. Safety is the top priority for Normandy Schools Collaborative, and we continue to enhance our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students and staff.”
Parents were happy to hear the news.
“Oh yeah, good idea to have the IDs,” said LaMont Clemons.
Most students said they’ve been issued ID cards in the past day or two. Earlier this week, students still didn’t have them after Antonio Batts, 18, of Ferguson, allegedly snuck into the school posing as a student.
A court document said he groped a female student in a restroom and forcibly grabbed her neck before she got away. Batts also tried to lure other female students to engage in sexual conduct. He is charged with trespassing and two counts of assault, all misdemeanors.
Police tracked down Batts in St. Louis on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
“If there was something more serious we could charge, we absolutely would charge it in a case like this because this is concerning,” said Wesley Bell, St. Louis County Prosecutor. “We don’t know what could have happened had this victim not gotten out of that bathroom… we are limited by the law, by the statutes. Students should have a right to feel safe in a school.”
Bell said he had contacted state lawmakers about possibly strengthening laws specifically tailored to cases like this to protect students and make people pay a heavy price for targeting schools.