New hall pass policy promotes school safety

Aisha Pitts and Gus Walsh– Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) - Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) introduced a new electronic bathroom policy for the 2026-27 school year.

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The clipboard passes that Mustangs would write their names on and take them to bathrooms have been replaced with a modern FOCUS computer system to match the growing number of people on campus.

In each classroom, a computer sits open and ready for student ID codes. This allows them to select destinations to go to such as the bathroom.

Once they return to the classroom, Mustangs must signify that they have returned, all through the click of a button.

Sophomore Zach Hait commented, "The new system makes people come back fast because they know they're now being tracked."

The electronic kiosk passes allow for accurate and precise timestamps of student entrances and exits out of their classrooms.

Hait continued, "I think some students probably went out of their class three to four times a day, and this will definitely cut that number."

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The new system also makes it easy for administrators and teachers to monitor behavior and ensure students go where they are intended to be.

LRHS Assistant Principal Becky Satterly said, "We want to track students more accurately and help keep everyone safe."

Mustangs are able to access their hall passes for the year in the "Hall Passes" tab of FOCUS which displays the passes created during the year, the time spent out of class and view any passes over the ten-minute limit.

LRHS art teacher Brianna Augustine-Carter said, "I think that it makes sense from a teacher's standpoint because we need to track students from going missing."

Photo - Gus Walsh