Southeast now requires IDs for students

By Rachel Brown
Dalton Daily Citizen
Southeast High School senior Zyra Miller says she doesn’t mind the school’s new requirement that all students wear identification badges, but she knows many students hate the concept.

“I think it’s a (good) way to make sure that the students are safe as well as the staff,” Miller said. “But it would be a disadvantage to those that are very forgetful.”

Principal Alan Long said this is the school’s first year to require students to wear ID badges, and the new policy goes into effect after the bar-coded cards are issued on Wednesday.

Southeast is the only local school that requires badges. There are no fees except for replacements. Long said the program is an effort to strengthen school security by creating a way for employees to immediately be able to identify those who are Southeast students and those who aren’t.

“Southeast High serves as a sort of transportation hub for buses in the morning, and students from Phoenix (High School) and the Whitfield Career Academy are also on the campus,” said school system spokesman Eric Beavers. Read More....