To improve student safety and discourage meetups with friends during class time, the Lynbrook administration proposed a more structured bathroom pass system for the 2023-24 school year. The new system aims to streamline the process for all teachers and eliminate any uncertainty regarding student safety in case of an emergency on campus.
“There was a lack of uniformity as teachers were all doing their own thing,” Principal Maria Jackson said. “We thought we’d propose a new system so we’d know where students are.”
The new policy is meant to restrict breaks to a duration of five minutes to encourage students to responsibly use their time. Students are also not permitted to leave for bathroom breaks within the first and last 10 minutes of each class.
Prior to the implemented bathroom pass system, some teachers required students to place designated items such as traffic cones or globes on their desks to signal that they were leaving the classroom. These teachers have been instructed to incorporate the new rules, which has taken some time to adapt to.
“In my previous system, I had students put a globe on their desk so that when I looked around I’d know immediately who was gone,” chemistry teacher Connie Leung said. “Now with the addition of the hall pass, I don’t immediately know who’s out since students often forget to use both the pass and globe.”
Both teachers and administration have expressed concerns about student safety on campus due to the previous lax system, since teachers could be unaware of their students’ whereabouts for extended periods of time. They hope that with these new regulations will help them know where students are during emergencies and keep students focused in class.
“I actually think the new system is a really effective method because it’s kept a lot of students in class longer,” sophomore Aarit Parekh said. “The fact that most teachers I know have you sign out before using the bathroom class makes it much easier to keep track of where students are.”
However, some students are against the rule that students can only leave one at a time. There have also been concerns regarding hygiene since students tend to touch it while using the restroom, passing along bacteria to the next user. Some teachers are brainstorming alternatives to solve this issue while preserving the purpose of the hall pass.
Although the new system aims to increase productivity in the classroom and foster a more focused learning environment, most teachers have not yet noticed obvious effects resulting from the new policies.
“Right now, I’m at a stage where I really haven’t changed anything,” government teacher Jeffrey Bale said. “There has to be a degree of trust with a teacher and students. I try to make my class as welcoming and fun as possible, so that students will be less likely to go to the bathroom out of boredom.”
