By Ella Franzman – Editor-In-Chief 

Jonathan Law High School will start to use a new electronic hall pass system called “PASS”. 

The change comes after many other schools in the state have shifted to electronic hall pass systems. At Law, these new passes will start being used on November 27, which is the first day back after the Thanksgiving break. 

“There are several school districts throughout the state (and other states) that have a form of electronic pass system in place,” Principal Mr. Darcy said. “A lot of districts have shifted away from paper passes over the last decade.” 

Each student will have a login on their computer and will have to request their teacher to leave the classroom, their teacher can choose to accept their request or deny it. 

“There are many benefits for both teachers and staff,” Darcy said. “Some of those benefits include using technology to make the building(s) more efficient and there are several safety features within the system.”

Students will have to click a button to “clock out” of the room and once they have come back from the bathroom, or their locker, or wherever their request was too they will “clock back in”. 

“I think it will make school more dependent on technology, and possibly distract from learning itself,” senior Maya Markowitz said. 

The biggest concern about using this system is that it is new technology for everyone. 

“For a student, the only shift is generating an electronic pass while using a Chromebook instead of writing out a pass,” Darcy said. “It’s literally clicking a button on a computer screen. Once we use it for a few months, people will understand how easy it is.”

On the eHallPass website there will be a space for “Now Pass” and “Appointment Pass” this will give the ability to have a pass immediately accepted or a space for a scheduled appointment, whether that’s with a student’s teacher or with their school counselor. 

“Another benefit will come when scheduling appointments,” Dean of Students Mr. Ragaini said. “This will be much easier for students, teachers, and other faculty members when organizing meetings.”

Many Law teachers believe the system will have a positive impact on students. 

“​​I’m excited about the ePass system,” science teacher Mrs. Gagnon said. “I think there will be a learning curve for everyone but overall I think it will be a good system.”

English teacher Mr. Kulenych agreed with Gagnon.

“Like any new technology, eHallPass will probably take some time for students and teachers to get used to, but ultimately it will benefit everyone,” English teacher Mr. Kulenych said. “The system will be extremely helpful for teachers because it will help us monitor how long students are out of the classroom and it will help the school in general by limiting high traffic times in the hallway and bathroom.”

Although getting used to this system will take time, in the end it will be simple for all students and staff to utilize and will help to make things run smoother and safer in school.  

“One benefit of eHallPass is to help Jonathan Law manage student movement, we will be able to limit the number of students in the hallway at any given time,” Ragaini said. “This translates to more class time for students.”