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Sandpoint High pilot of SmartPass spurs debate over student tracking and privacy
Summary
District staff presented a SmartPass digital hall-pass pilot intended to track in‑school movement, improve attendance data and flag students missing significant class time. Presenters and parents debated benefits for student support against long‑term surveillance and data‑security concerns.
Casey McLaughlin, a Sandpoint High School staff member, and Chris Taylor, assistant principal of Haywood High School, presented a trial of SmartPass, a digital hall‑pass system the high school has been piloting this semester.
The system logs student passes on Chromebooks or kiosks, limits bathroom passes to short durations by default, and can send alerts to administrators when students exceed time limits, McLaughlin said. "The objectives of SmartPass was basically communicate with parents, connect with students, identify learning barriers, and keep students safe," he told the board, adding the district paid about $1,500 for the current semester test and expects roughly $5,000 for a full year of use.
Supporters said the tool makes hall supervision and follow‑up easier and helps identify students who repeatedly miss instructional time. McLaughlin cited early analytics from Sandpoint High: among 39 students who…
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