As of January 29th 2025, the Digital Hall Pass underwent a reform; instead of Chromebooks in each class for students to sign out, each class now has a personalized Google Form attached to their Google Classroom. For more information regarding the previous system, see my previous article titled “The Digital Hall Pass: What Does CHS Think?” 

So, what does this new and improved Digital Hall Pass entail? For the most part, the form remains the same, except for removal of the question asking which classroom a student is leaving from. This has been made possible because each teacher now has their own designated form. The main changes to the system have been procedural; instead of traveling to a class Chromebook, students are now meant to use their own. Many teachers who instruct classes that do not frequently use Chromebooks—such as math or social studies classes—have employed the innovative solution of utilizing a QR code. In this case, students are instructed to grab their phone from the caddy and scan a QR code near the door to access the same form. 

Holistically speaking, the student response to this change has been positive. The removal of the form’s lengthiest question saves students’ time and simplifies the entire process. Additionally, in many cases, students are already on their Chromebook when they ask for permission to leave the room, allowing them to quickly fill it out without the inconvenience of travelling to the class’ Chromebook. However, there have been some drawbacks. In the lower cafeteria, there is typically a weak or complete lack of WiFi connection to students’ phones, regardless of if they are on the school’s WiFi or not. Consequently, students oftentimes are unable to fill out the form on their phone and must travel to another class without doing so. This creates a slight safety concern, which impairs the main purpose of the form to begin with. 

With this being said, this alteration to the Digital Hall Pass System has been a net positive. As a student, it is encouraging to see the staff listen to criticism about the old system and actively address it. And, given the novelty of the system, it is likely that it will continue to experience multiple changes in the upcoming future that will hopefully continue in this direction.