“Where’s your ID?”

“IDs on please!”

“Go pick up a temporary ID from the library.”

Along with new security procedures implemented at the beginning of the school year, IDs are required to be worn at all times while on school grounds. However, some students continuously protest against this policy.

IDs are a must for the safety and well-being of students and faculty. Therefore, students should acknowledge the importance of IDs in schools. 

Block lunch is the time for students to hang out with their friends, go to clubs and attend any academic tutorials, if needed. Although without the proper usage of IDs, privileges involving lunch are in jeopardy.

Despite block lunch having been taken away before, it’s on the edge of being eliminated for good partially because of the lack of students wearing their IDs. Teachers have repeatedly reminded students to show up to school with their IDs since the first day, yet students are frequently getting punished as their IDs are not visible. 

Students have tried various methods to get out of wearing their badges, whether that be by putting them into their pockets, keeping them attached on backpacks or forgetting them at home. Some claim the badges are uncomfortable to wear around their necks for the entire school day, and others claim the IDs are too “conformitive” with one’s aesthetic. 

However, in page 7 of the Student Code of Conduct, it’s a requirement to provide proper identification to a district employee to be able to recognize students efficiently and accurately. Therefore, students need to bring their badges to school and wear them properly at all times because one bad apple can ruin the whole bunch.

With 135 school shootings in Texas in 2023 alone, safety rules and regulations have steadily increased with extra precautions than there were before. Doors must be locked when class is in session, students aren’t allowed to open the exit doors for anyone outside and no outside food service like Uber Eats can enter the school building. These restrictions are in place for the protection of both students and faculty members, just like the rule to wear IDs in order to identify students easily.

While the requirement to wear IDs has always been implemented, students continually disobey wearing them around their necks. This rule is in place for the protection of everyone within the school, and students should not get to ruin valuable academic opportunities like block lunch for their peers because they don’t wear their IDs. 

Students should be advised that without the proper use of identification, the administration will have no choice but to limit the available resources once provided.