Sad, but true.
There is a growing panic and fear in this country and it never dissipates — each time another child is abducted or there is a mass killing at a school.
We have lost our innocence and the kids are not allowed be kids anymore.
Yes, fear is very limiting for many people. It’s never going to be a risk-free world, and a lot of people don’t realistically evaluate risks. A child is more likely to die in an accident in his mother’s car on the way to school (especially if she’s on her Smartphone) than he is to be shot at school, and yet parents aren’t afraid to text and drive. He’s more likely to drown in the bathroom than to be kidnapped off the sidewalk by a stranger, but people take baths all the time without ever thinking of the danger.
School systems and other large entities are weirdly constrained by their fear of lawsuits. If there’s a rule that seems really senseless, it’s probably because someone sued.