Students have returned to Piper High School only to be greeted with another change.  The new program called e-hallpass was designed to help with the ongoing distraction of leaving the classroom, but has mixed reviews from students and staff.

“I like E-hallpass… E-hallpass is being run for them, so it’s a better option than remembering whose turn it was to utilize the facility,” said music teacher Shelly Cole. 

Although Cole likes E-hallpass, there are some downsides, especially in her classes. 

“It’s just a lot when I’m trying to navigate Concert Choir because there’s a lot of people.” Her Concert Choir has 50+ students enrolled. “[It’s] frustrating when I have 15 or 20 students going, ‘I want go to the bathroom’ and I only let one out at a time.”

Using this application is also hurting the students more than everyone realizes. 

“We have to make out an e-hallpass to go to a teacher and I don’t like that because what if I had to turn in something? What if I missed a day? The only time I have is to go right now, but I have to make an e-hallpass and then the teacher says no. We also only have four passes,” said Freshman Laila Ford.  

E-hallpasses are primarily used during “Travel Time,” a designated period of time during Advisory for students to visit classrooms to catch up on work. Other times it’s used during class periods to use the restroom. 

“Teachers don’t feel the same way because they don’t have to make an E-hallpass every time they have to use the bathroom. They don’t even tell us–  All they do is walk out of the classroom or press a button for us.” said Ford.

As much as there is difficulty making a pass, there are upsides to it. 

According to eduspiresolutions.org, the creator of the program, the electronic pass helps with accountability and ends hall-pass abuse. They originally created it to help with the pandemic and security and safety regulations. 

Most of the teachers agree with the statements that the program institutes, but still sympathize with the students’ struggle. 

“[It] reminds me who is out of the class, like to use the restroom, so I like having that visual there,” said FACS teacher Megan Geist. “It does take some time for the kids to make E-hallpasses at times or I have to stop what I’m doing in order to okay them, but all in all, I think the pros completely outweigh the cons.”