Recently, the administration of Edmond Memorial High School sent out an email regarding a new policy that might come into effect soon. The letter sent to teachers stated that students would have to go through the process of presenting their I.D. badges to their teacher, scanning a QR code on their desk and receiving a physical pass before they finally can proceed to use the restroom. 

While this policy was most likely designed to create appropriate use of bathroom breaks and encourage students to wear their I.D. badges, this will be less efficient than the simple raise your hand and ask to use the restroom protocol the school already has set in place. 

There are a number of ways this new plan could go south or become more complicated than it already is. One of the main reasons being that students always having their badges on hand is not realistic. These small pieces of plastic are easy to lose and without lanyards being handed out with them this year, this issue is extra prevalent. 

Although it is expected that all students should have their I.D. on them or visible at all times, that is simply not the case. I don’t believe it’s wrong to implement this rule as they do help ensure the safety of the school. However, when they are required for someone to use the restroom I think it’s safe to say the rule is being enforced a little too far. There are many factors why a student wouldn’t have theirs that day such as misplacing or losing it. 

Another issue that might come into play with this approach is the unreliableness of using a QR code to receive and fill out a google form. I’m not entirely sure how this would even work out as it sounds time consuming and might result in taking away from instructional time. 

Most students have cell phones but the issue with this is that not all have great connection. Generally, the school has weak Wi-Fi and if the school really wanted to implement something like this into the everyday schedule, they would have to work on the Wi-Fi signal as well. Additionally, I find it interesting that the school does not want us to use our phones during class time yet they would apply a rule that would bring this about. 

Some teachers are even claiming that if this policy was set forth they would decide to not allow students to use the restroom at all, being that it has turned into a complicated mess of a process. This would obviously result in upset students and is not favorable.

Ultimately, this rumor of convoluted steps to use the facilities elicited controversy amongst students and teachers and hopefully was only a proposal rather than a set plan of action.

*Correction: The bathroom policy was approved and went into effect on Monday, December 5th.*

Contact Grace Swisher at [email protected]