- November 6, 2024
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Flagler Schools middle and high school students are used to having to wear their ID at school at all times. But they may not have to do that in the future.
Concerned about the amount of classroom times kids were missing because of "ID violations," district staff calculated the total: There were an average of 1,290 referrals written for school ID violations per year over three school years, each requiring students to lose about 12-15 minutes of class time — totaling the equivalent of 45 days missed, said Tim King, the district administrator who handles school disciplinary matters.
The requirement that students wear their ID cards so that they're visible at all times is currently part of the district's disciplinary policy. But school district staff have reccomeneded that the School Board consider the new disciplinary policy for the coming school year with that particular requirement removed.
District staff are looking into dropping the requirement that students actually wear the ID cards, and substituting it with a requirement that students keep their cards with them, ready to be displayed when needed. In the new proposal, students would also be able to scan their cards onto their cell phones, and use the scans instead of the regular cards.
"The idea behind this is: Students are a lot less likely to forget or lose their cell phone," King said.
Students would still be issued a physical ID. But they could use the scanned image — which wold include the card's barcode — to gain access to campus and to extracurricular events.
The St. Johns County and Volusia County school districts do not require students to wear their student ID cards, King said, and School District consultant Winnie Oden has told the district that requiring students to keep their ID visible isn't a best practice where it comes to school security.
Other policies — like requiring visitors to sign in through a computerized system that completed a miniature background check before issuing visitors a temporary ID card — are effective at keeping students safe, King said.
The change had the support of Superintendent Jacob Oliva, and no members of the School Board voiced opposition.
