A school emergency is every student, teacher and parent’s worst nightmare. Whether it is an intruder or a medical crisis, it is necessary to implement policies within the school to increase student safety and wellbeing. 

Students, teachers, staff members and any visitor in the building should have to wear visible identification in the form of an ID on a lanyard.  

North implements measures to ensure the safety of students such as locking all doors including the main entrance, having all people entering the building get buzzed in through the Attendance or Main Office and employing school resource officer Jason Rodgers. 

Wearing a school ID allows for a quick, visual check of people in the school. According to the National Education Center, only 17.6 percent of high schools require all students and staff to wear IDs at all times. By having everyone in the building wear identification, it is easy to determine if that person belongs in the building. 

Strictly controlling who can access the building is a crucial step to make school as safe as possible. 47 percent of school shootings were committed by not-current students according to Campus Safety magazine. School IDs can be used to scan into the building by giving electronic access to a person who belongs in the building. This would ensure that only those individuals with authorization could enter.

Currently, North students with off-campus lunch are expected to scan out when leaving the building, yet when re-entering they have not needed  to show a form of identification and are not scanned back in. This could allow anyone to easily access the building if the person knows the lunch schedules.  Having students scan back in with their IDs eliminates the chance of an intruder making their way in.

Student IDs can also be utilized in classrooms for not only safety, but also to keep track of attendance. If each student was required to scan into class at the beginning of each period, any attendance mistakes would be avoided. Plus, there would be an accurate record of the location of every student at any given time. The issue of being called down to the dean if a student was accidentally marked absent would be completely eliminated.

In addition to increasing building safety, IDs can also be used to aid students with medical issues. For students with medical conditions that require special attention, especially in the case of a medical emergency, the back of the ID could serve as a medical ID. It would state what condition the student has such as diabetic or prone to seizures, which would give a staff member quick and easy information to get them help as soon as possible. Minutes can be precious to ensure the wellbeing of a student in medical distress.

The  ID’s barcode could be equipped with each student’s emergency contact information as well. In the instance of an emergency, scanning the ID would allow for quick access to the student’s information as well as discern if 911 must be called or simply the school nurse.  

Though some students may see it as an annoyance, wearing an ID at all times is a small price to pay for safety. Whether it’s protecting against violence in school or aiding students and staff in the case of a medical emergency, wearing IDs can save lives.