IDs at school

I am getting phone calls at home about the school's decision to have junior and senior high school students wear photo ids next year, so I know people are still talking about it.

Here is what I think: PROS *7th through 12th graders are old enough to accept the responsibility to carry a photo ID. *A couple rounds of paying $5 replacements and maybe they will be a little more careful if they are prone to lose things. *Teachers and other staff already where IDs like this, so the students are familiar with the concept. *Having a library card, id card, lunch card, and activity pass in one thing is seriously a clutter buster.

CONS * School will have to pay for equipment and photos for students * Administration hassle * Not sure on the legality of not letting the kids got to class without paying $5 replacement fee. Pretty sure it isn't going to be allowed.

Ultimately, the concerns I have heard are that the kids will get hurt on the playground (no playgrounds at the high school). The students will hurt each other with the id tags (if they are that determined, they will hit each other with whatever is handy). The students will lose them (maybe this will help them learn responsibility).

My high school had photo ids back in the day. We had a security guard too, and this was all before Columbine even happened. Security is important, and knowing which students belong in the building isn't a bad idea. I don't think the ids will really keep anyone safer in a tragedy, but I don't think they will hurt anyone.

I went to high school in Eden Prairie, and we had photo IDs all starting in sixth grade. They weren't ever a problem.