OTTUMWA, IOWA -- UPDATE - On Tuesday afternoon, Ottumwa Community School's Superintendent Dr. Jon Sheldahl re-assured KTVO that students are and will continue to be safe after the school board approved the admittance Monday evening, of a student who will be listed on the Iowa sex offender registry.
According to the district, the student is a special education student and will be attended to by a full-time paraprofessional. The student will not be in a classroom with other students, only the teacher and paraprofessional. Sheldahl says that the student "doesn't appear to be at risk" of reoffending and that the student will be supervised by an adult at all times.
"We are required to still provide an education, but we are also required to provide an educational environment that is going to be appropriate for that student," said Sheldahl
Sheldahl told the board things went fine in 2006, the last time a sex offender enrolled in the district.
"This is the second time this has happened in the 10 years that I have been here. So it is pretty rare here. We are just required to notify the board and give that student a safe environment and that's what we have done," said Sheldahl.
Under Iowa State Law, students who are convicted sex offenders are entitled to receive a public education.
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