Discipline referrals fall, administration plans digital hall-pass pilot to curb hallway disruptions

District administration presented discipline and attendance data showing notable reductions in referrals and serious actions, and announced a grant-funded digital hall-pass pilot intended to limit hallway disruptions.

Presenter Mr. Bender summarized the school-year comparisons for 2022–23 and 2023–24, noting a large decline in referrals overall and singling out ninth-grade referrals as having dropped significantly (from 448 to 181 in the figures shown). He said the district implemented a discipline flowchart to clarify teacher-managed versus administration-managed responses and credited that change, along with other practices, with much of the improvement.

Mr. Bender reported shifts in disciplinary actions: lunch detentions increased (the district uses lunch detentions rather than after-school detentions because there is no late bus), after-school detentions declined markedly, suspensions (in-school and out-of-school) fell substantially, and referrals to law enforcement decreased. He also said Alcohol/Tobacco/Other Drug incidents fell by roughly 39% year-over-year.

To reduce unnecessary hallway traffic and give staff data to support interventions with families, administration introduced a digital "smart pass" (a Hall Pass app installed on student Chromebooks). The app allows students to request passes, teachers to grant permission, and staff to monitor who is out of class and for how long; administrators said the software will permit limiting the number of passes per day and will be piloted in April–May with a targeted full implementation in September. Board members asked about privacy exceptions and emergency allowances; administration said emergencies would be exempt and settings will be refined during the pilot.

No formal board action was required on the presentation.