Hall Pass? or Hall Fail?

At the beginning of March, 2023 at Hazelwood East High School a new hall pass policy was implemented. There are  a variety of opinions from students and teachers on how the hall pass policy impacts the school.

The new hall pass policy was implemented so faculty could keep more kids in classrooms than in hallways, limiting students to 4 passes a class for each semester. With more than 50 kids out per hour due to passes or even skipping, the hall pass policy was used to minimize the traffic in halls. With school shootings on a rise the hall pass tracker could help keep track of every student’s location.

Mrs.Goff, a teacher at HEHS stated “I think,in part, it helps with security measures so that we know who’s always out in the hallways. We would be able to look at the list and see that 45 kids need to be in rooms at the moment. An extra security measure never hurts because our main goal is to keep students safe at all times.”

Although HEHS teachers seem to agree with the policy, students have mixed feelings about it.

Vajah Bassett, Sophomore at HEHS, stated “ I believe it was necessary because a lot of students were skipping classes and being in the hallways for no reason however, I feel like they could’ve did 8 passes instead of 4.”

Another student Jerkeem Jones, Sophomore at HEHS stated “It wasn’t necessary because we shouldn’t have to be monitored on where we can and can’t go. I feel like students  should have more chances and opportunities to prove their accountability without supervision.”

Although Jones doesn’t feel like the passes were necessary Bassett begs to differ. She feels it’s needed for students with a bad record.

“A kid who’s never in trouble in the hallway isn’t going to cause trouble in the hall; it’ll be students with repetitive behavior.