A new service will allow parents of students in the Jefferson County Schools to monitor registered sex offenders in their neighborhoods.

Supt. Craig Pouncey announced in last Thursday’s Jefferson County Board of Education regular session that the system would be partnering with County Sheriff Mike Hale and his department in a program called OffenderWatch Initiative, a service that annually mails postcard notifications when registered sex offenders move into an area.

The new partnership expands those notifications to the online arena, allowing parents to access an online portal to sign up for notifications of sex-offender movements.

The service has been generally available nationwide; this particular pilot program brings OffenderWatch.com together with the Sheriff’s Office and JefCoEd.

“I am pleased that the sheriff’s department and JefCoEd board of education are partnering on something as important as safety for our students,” Pouncey said in a prepared statement. “It is a critical issue and we are the first board asked to be a pilot project in this endeavor about notification of sex offenders and where they live.”

The county system is the first in central Alabama to take part in the pilot program, Pouncey said.

The service will accessible as a website; an app download for smart phones will not be required.

JefCoEd spokeswoman Nez Calhoun said the start date for the new service isn’t set yet.

During Thursday’s meeting, the board also hired Angela Strickland to fill an assistant principal’s position at Bagley School.