Central's ID Problem Worse Than South's: Hinsdale D86

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale Central High School is having a tougher time than Hinsdale South to get students to comply with the school district's identification rule, statistics show.

"It's been a challenge to get buy-in at Central," Superintendent Tammy Prentiss said during an interview this week at District 86's headquarters. "There's not a problem at South. There are individual kids who forget."

Under a pilot program, District 86 said it is screening for IDs at Central’s entrances.

Students are expected to wear ID lanyards at school. According to Central's newsletters, those who forget their IDs will be provided temporary ones and charged a supplies fee of $1 for their first three offenses. They may receive detention after that, Central says.

According to the district's statistics, 102 Central students have had to get four temporary IDs this year. Seventy have had to get five. Another 64 fall in the range of six to nine. Three have received as many as a dozen.

At South, no student has violated the policy as many as four times, according to the district's numbers.

In fall 2020, the use of ID lanyards began in District 86. For security reasons, officials say it's important for students to keep their IDs visible at all times.

On Sept. 21, Central closed its campus after a threat was found in a restroom stall at the school. After that, the school "recalibrated" its approach and emphasized the requirement to wear ID lanyards, Prentiss said.

According to the district's numbers, South has given many more detentions to students for failing to wear their IDs. South has recorded 123 detentions, compared with 72 at Central.

South's numbers are from the entire school year, while Central's reflect those since Oct. 24, two months into the year, according to the district.

From the numbers, it appears South is more likely than Central to discipline students for violating the rule. The disparity is even more apparent when one considers that Central's enrollment is nearly double South's.

Prentiss noted that Central Principal Bill Walsh keeps informing parents about the importance of the ID requirement. It's a regular topic in the school's weekly newsletters.

"They continue to work on compliance," the superintendent said. "He is asking parents to please help us."