This year, McKinley High School has been enforcing their ID policy for safety, by sending students found not wearing their IDs to the business office to buy a new ID for five dollars.
The main reason MHS has been enforcing its rules is so that students can be easily and safely identified by others and to identify those who should not be on campus.
The faculty now reminds students to wear their IDs during recess and lunch. They find students who do not have an ID by periodically checking student IDs during their classes
I think this way of checking is fine because it is not obtrusive to the students and teachers. However, it doesn’t differentiate between those who do not want to wear their ID and those who do not have their IDs for the first time.
MHS should revise this rule to differentiate between those who abide by the school’s rules and those who do not. When a student abides by the rules but genuinely forgets or loses their ID, they should not be sent to buy another one like those who do not follow the rules.
The business office does not keep track of people who bought a new ID but keeps track of people who still need to pay for the ID. Since they don’t keep records of those who get a new ID, they cannot keep track of those who constantly get a replacement ID. This means they cannot differentiate between those who are genuine about wearing ID’s and those who do not want to follow the rule.
A system to differentiate between students who keep losing their IDs, those who do not want to wear their IDs; and those who are not wearing their ID for the first time would highlight which students to focus on. Students who do not want to wear their ID should be required to talk to their counselors.
Those who are not wearing their ID for the first time could get a light warning. This solution is simple but could be abused. A way to stop those from abusing this privilege is to give out detention for repeat offenders.
The costs will pile up if the student continuously gets new IDs. This can be a problem for those who keep losing their ID. To solve this problem, MHS can advertise different methods to not lose them. For example a different method of wearing their ID with a clip but with a lanyard or teach them a mnemonic method to not forget their ID.
The ID is one of the ways McKinley is trying to keep the students safe. It is also the student’s responsibility to respect the rules of the school. As a community, we need to come together to amend any grievances we have to keep our school safe for all.
