In the words of the Cambridge Dictionary, identification is “the act of recognizing and naming someone or something.”
In the setting of a school, this “someone or something” are all of the people who make up the school. Students, teachers, principals and all other faculty members are parts of the school which can be recognized and named. If they cannot be readily identified, all of these people have been supplied with an ID that tells others who they are. For students and staff, IDs have their name and a photo of them printed in color on the front for the sole purpose of their identification.
In previous years, IDs were required to be worn around students’ necks on a lanyard. The policy brought about in the 2023-24 school year doubled down on this by further separating the students based on their grade level and lunch period.
“Last year, the policy for IDs was that students at the high school had to be wearing a school issued lanyard with a school issued clear case and their ID inside of that case that they had to be wearing at all times,” assistant principal Keri Harrington said. “There were different colored lanyards with designated lunch periods on them for each grade level.”
The new policy this year did away with lanyards entirely. Rather, in accordance with the code of conduct, students are required to have their IDs on them so that they can be readily presented when asked.
The Secondary Code of Conduct states that “no student shall fail or refuse to identify him or herself properly and courteously when requested to do so by school authorities…. While on school premises students shall be required to have their Identification Card in their possession at all times.”
This change was inspired by the student ID policy enforced at the junior high school. It was felt that the sudden change between not having to wear IDs to having to wear them was what caused many students to face discipline for not wearing them.
“We felt that it wasn’t really fair to be disciplining students at the high school level for doing something that wasn’t carried through with consistency,” Harrington said. “We felt as students get older, they’re maturing, and that allowing them to be accountable for their identification by carrying their IDs on them would be a little bit more agreeable for the students. Kids just really didn’t like wearing the lanyards as well, so we wanted to make a compromise there and still have kids accountable for their ID, but at the same time not making them wear them.”
Students will primarily be asked to present their IDs when they are in the halls during class time without a pass. IDs are also required when getting into sporting events, in the school library, at the Chromebook help desk and on various other occasions.
For students who fail to present their IDs when asked, discipline will begin with an after school detention and progress into more severe consequences if a student further violates the ID policy.
At this point in the year, not all IDs have been passed out. More leniency is being allowed for students who have not yet received their IDs, but when all students have received their IDs, the policy will begin to be fully enforced.
