Vernon students may be required to wear ID

The Vernon Township Board of Education plans to require students in grade 4 and up to wear their district-provided identification around their necks at all times.

At its Dec. 21 meeting, the board introduced a policy that updates a previous policy that requires students to present their student ID on demand.

Colin Geisen, the student representative on the board, asked what would happen if a student forgot the identification and who would pay for it if it were lost.

Kelly Mitchell, board president, said the district’s security director Scott Waleck would make a temporary ID for the day if a student forgot it or a new one if it was lost.

Board member Martin O’Donnell asked if there was a policy on lost identifications, suggesting that the first one may be free but students would have to pay for additional lost IDs.

“If somebody is constantly doing that, that’s a problem,” he said. “It’s a responsibility the students have to take care of.”

Board member Jennifer Pellett said the district will have students who struggle to remember to wear their ID, especially among the special-needs population.

“I don’t feel that we should be penalizing students,” she said. “I feel like we should be helping them to comply but not penalizing them.”

Mitchell said it was a safety issue.

“We’re definitely going to have growing pains with it,” she said. “But safety is more important than anything else. So it is going to have some growing pains, but I think it’s definitely worth it and should be a priority.”