May 16, 2025
By Zana Lacka
Staff Writer
Much of daily life has become electronic, but paper hall passes are a time-honored tradition that should remain. While SmartPass is the new norm at LHS, there are many flaws in this digital hall pass system.
The administration introduced this app to make the school safer and reduce lines for the bathroom, but SmartPass has led to long wait lines in the digital queue. This is mainly because some students forget to end their passes when they return to class.
The system registers these students as being out of class, so others wait on a digital line when there is no one, or few students, in the bathroom. This delay distracts students, as they must constantly watch their screen to see if they have moved up in line.
In a Lighthouse survey of 92 LHS students, 64% said they prefer traditional paper hall passes, with 23% favoring SmartPass and 13% having no preference.
Another drawback is the complexity of SmartPass. If a student needs to visit another teacher or an uncommon area in the school, they need a teacher’s pin or must request teacher approval to proceed. These requests are problematic because the teacher they want to visit is unlikely to be monitoring SmartPass at that moment.
Furthermore, teachers can get distracted by misleading passes accidentally sent by students. With several teachers in the building with the same or similar last names, students may request a pass for the wrong person, confusing everyone involved. Additionally, there is no option for students to visit multiple locations during the same trip, creating another obstacle.
Finally, costing $7,500 for this school year and the upcoming school year, SmartPass comes at a hefty price. This money could be better used for other projects like the fieldhouse weight room renovation, sink repairs in the bathrooms and more.
In a Lighthouse survey of 92 LHS students, 64% said they prefer traditional paper hall passes, with 23% favoring SmartPass and 13% having no preference.
The majority of students find paper passes superior, and for good reason. SmartPass is inconvenient, confusing and costly. Therefore, the best way to move forward is to stick with the old-fashioned but straightforward system of paper passes.
