Back to school safety: Protecting your child with tips from FBI, Red Cross

As summer winds down and the back-to-school season gears up, parents, educators, and students are preparing for the year ahead. While fresh supplies and new schedules are on the brain, safety is the top priority.

Here's a guide to help your family navigate the school year safely with safety checklists from the American Red Cross and cybersecurity advice from the FBI.

Getting to school safely

What you can do:

Before the first day, ensure your child has key information memorized. Teach them their home address, your phone number, how to reach you at work, the name and number of another trusted adult, and how to dial 911 in an emergency. Reiterate the importance of never talking to strangers or accepting rides from people they don’t know.

Walking to school

• Stay on the path: Kids should always use sidewalks. If there isn't a sidewalk, they should walk facing traffic.
• Look both ways: Teach them the golden rule of crossing: stop and look left, right, and left again before stepping off the curb.
• Use designated crossings: Only cross the street at corners or marked crosswalks, and always obey traffic signals. Never dart out between parked cars.

Riding the bus

• Wait safely: Students should get to their bus stop early and stand well away from the curb while waiting.
• Board with care: Wait until the bus comes to a complete stop and the driver instructs them to get on.
• Stay visible: Kids should always ensure the bus driver can see them and must never walk behind the bus.

Biking and driving

• Cyclists: A helmet is non-negotiable. Bikers should always ride on the right side of the road, in the same direction as the traffic.
• Teen drivers: Remind teenage drivers to always buckle up, put the cell phone away (no texting or calling), and avoid eating or drinking while behind the wheel.
• Fellow motorists: Drivers need to slow down in school zones. If you see a school bus with yellow flashing lights, prepare to stop. Red flashing lights and an extended stop arm mean you must stop your vehicle until all children have safely crossed.

Cyber safety

Dig deeper:

Schools now rely heavily on the internet, which exposes students to a new set of risks. The FBI emphasizes that from cyber scams to online predators, digital threats are increasingly targeting young people.

• To protect your account, create a strong, unique passphrase for every online account. Reusing the same password across multiple platforms means that if one account is compromised, all of your student's data is at risk.
• Officials say students should be highly skeptical of strange accounts or friend requests from people they haven't met in real life, encouraging parents to emphasize the importance of never posting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) publicly on social media.
• To defend against scams and phishing, teach your kids never to open an email attachment unless they are expecting it and have verified the sender's identity. Always scrutinize electronic requests for payments or funds transfers, which are common phishing tactics.
• Whether studying at a coffee shop or the local library, officials say to be extremely cautious when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks. Students should never conduct sensitive transactions, such as making purchases or logging into bank accounts, on an unsecured public network.

The FBI urges parents to have ongoing conversations about safe online behaviors. Let your children know that if any situation online makes them feel threatened or uncomfortable, they need to report it to a parent or teacher immediately.

EducationCrime and Public Safety