It was a common scenario for the division heads for student success, safety, and wellness.

There were times when students were skipping classes by staying in the cafeteria for multiple lunch periods in a row, pretending they were on their scheduled lunch break each of those times.

Now the DHSSSWs hope that this has changed with the addition of new security and attendance measures. From the addition of new colored ID stickers and stricter rules about cell phones, there are several new security-related changes that Elk Grove administrators made as the 2023-24 school year started.

“We want our students in classes, and we’ve seen a lot of students enjoy a long lunch but we just want them in class to gain the instruction our teachers are giving,” Rebecca Schilz, one of the three DHSSSWs, said. 

To start, there are the new ID stickers. Each student ID contains two square stickers that state students’ lunch periods. This allows security to tell what lunch period a student has before leaving campus or entering the cafeteria. Students who scratch the stickers off will have to get new ones, as removing the material leaves a residue behind. 

The purpose behind the new IDs is to ensure that students are in the correct place during all lunch periods. This goes hand-in-hand with a new measure to keep students who are on lunch in the cafeteria until the bell rings. Ideally, this also creates both easier exits and entrances into the cafeteria without the hassle of additional students rushing in and out.

Additionally, there are now stricter limitations on tardies compared to last year’s policies. A tardy is now defined as being 1-9 minutes late to class, while a cut is anything more than that nine minutes. This is a huge reduction from 39 minutes for a tardy, which is what the cutoff was last year.

“The point is we want our students in class, and with the leniency we had with 39 minutes tardy was just too much time,” Schilz said. “Essentially you’re missing half the class.”

Getting to class late on a regular basis or cutting class altogether will lead to consequences such as not being able to attend school events like dances or games. Not all students are in agreement with this new limitation. 

“It’s hard to get to class exactly at 8:30 a.m.,” sophomore Angie Kovacheva said. “Emergencies happen in the morning, especially for girls.”

Some students have expressed that the 8:35 starting time would return.

“It might have been only five minutes but those extra minutes made a difference,” senior Nicole Motica said.