COMPLETE COVERAGE | FRONT LINES | AMERICA AT HOME | INTERACTIVES »

White House re-opens doors to student tours

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For the first time since they were canceled after the September 11 attacks, student tours resumed at the White House on Friday.

Students from nine different schools from across the United States are scheduled to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during the day. The tours are part of a program the administration announced in January to open up the White House in a limited fashion following the terrorist attacks.

First lady Laura Bush plans to be on hand to greet the first three school groups -- students from Aurora, Illinois, Washington, D.C., and Saline, Michigan -- after they wrap up their tours Friday morning.

RESOURCES How to tour the White House

In all, 390 students and teachers will pass through the White House on Friday. Other student groups hail from California, Indiana, Michigan, Washington, Florida and New York.

The White House stopped tours shortly after the terrorist attacks. It faced some criticism for continuing to restrict tours, even during the holiday season, when tourists often flock to Washington, D.C. to see the presidential Christmas decorations.

The Bush administration said the move was based on security concerns and a recommendation from the U.S. Secret Service.

Last month, administration spokesman Ari Fleischer said that the White House would be "open for business" in a limited way, and that tours of school groups would begin in February.

"The president and Mrs. Bush are very pleased to be able to take that limited step as part of reopening the White House," Fleischer said then. "Spring is a time of great tourism in Washington, D.C. and much of that tourism comes from school groups coming to town. And the White House will once again be open for business as schoolchildren visit."

For the first time, tour visitors will be pre-screened by the White House, which means all students and teachers must provide their name, social security number and date of birth in order to get clearance to visit.

Fleischer said this is a sign that tighter security measures remain in effect at the White House.

The tours, he said, are "especially important for our nation's schoolchildren, because school visits are a bit part of how children learn, how they grow. It is a time-honored tradition, that is being balanced with a nation at war."

School officials must contact their congressional representatives to schedule tours at the White House. Tours will be held from Tuesday through Saturday unless there is an official event at the White House, the first lady's office said.