Orange County high school requiring students to scan QR codes to leave class

Hall passes seem to be a thing of the past for one high school in Orange County.

Now, at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, students must download an app and scan a QR code if they want to leave the classroom.

The newly implemented system works when a student scans the code to exit the classroom for whatever reason, including using the bathroom, visits to the nurse’s office, the library or the school wellness center. The QR codes track how long they are gone for, and students must scan in again when they return.

Edison High School Principal Daniel Morris told the Orange County Register that the policy has been implemented for student safety, saying that the QR code system is not “strict” but rather serves as guidelines that students are asked to follow.

Not all teachers are requesting students to abide by the instructions, Morris added.

“We understand kids’ situations, and in 99% of those cases, we’re aware of the students that need extra visits,” he told the O.C. Register, also saying that by keeping track of the number of times a student leaves the classroom, administrators can better determine if there needs to be a discussion with the student or if they need to be provided with extra support.

The new system caused quite a stir amongst students – who went so far as to start a petition to get the school to remove the QR codes – with some telling KTLA that the bathrooms periodically close, and that the time restraints for being out of class, especially using the restroom, aren’t realistic.

“My problem with it is that, sometimes the bathrooms are closed, and sometimes, we don’t have enough time for the seven-minute limit that we get,” student Jacob Green told KTLA 5 Orange County Bureau Chief Chip Yost. “If we don’t end up [returning] within the seven minutes, we get marked as truant, absent or being late to the class…it’s definitely unfair when you’re trying to use the restroom.”

Another student, Tony Garcia, claimed that he got in trouble for being gone “a minute” longer than the system allows.

“I’ve gone like a minute over and the teacher would nag me and wouldn’t let me use the bathroom in the next class,” he said. “It’s kind of annoying.”

KTLA has reached out to Edison High School and the Huntington Beach Union High School District for official comment but has yet to hear a response.

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