SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) - A San Diego Unified mother is frustrated with the policy at her children's after-school program. It's a SDUSD program called PrimeTime.
Kelsey McElhaney says on Tuesday she was dealing with an emergency.
Her children's father could not pick their two children up from PrimeTime, nor could anyone on her emergency contacts list. McElhaney is a nurse and was also not able to get them.
McElhaney tracked down her cousin who said he could pick the children up, but PrimeTime staff said they could not allow that.
"There was no empathy, there was no consideration," said McElhaney. "It's an emergency situation, I can't leave my patients, especially my vulnerable patients, but I do have someone who can come. I've given verbal authorization."
Staff told McElhaney if neither she nor her emergency contacts could come they would have to call the police, citing the parent handbook policy.
She left work despite possibly losing her job and believes the policy needs to be looked at by the district.
"I think it's important to be careful but I also think it's important to implement critical thinking," said McElhaney.
A district spokesperson says parents are made aware of the emergency contact protocols prior to signing up. She says PrimeTime has been caught in the middle of custody battles and that they take the parent handbook policies seriously.
A district administrator who oversees the matter told 10News:
We make every effort to ensure students safety and work with families for a positive resolution.
