BIBB COUNTY, Ga. — Some Bibb County Schools are using a new system used to monitor where students are in the building.
They're using it for safety purposes, but some people say it's creating a new obstacle. The platform is called Smart Pass.
According to the school district, two high schools and one middle school currently use it. Administrators at Howard High School introduced Smart Pass last April to maximize safety.
"We realized that it was important for us to be able to account for students in case we have to enact an emergency protocol for any reason,” Principal Michael Scott said. “What Smart Pass does is it allows us to keep track of where students are traveling in the building throughout the day."
Scott said students get three passes a day to go anywhere in the building including the bathroom. He said there are three other informal chances for them to go too. Once a student requests a pass for the bathroom, they are put in a virtual line.
"They just wait in the line as they would if they actually went to the restrooms,” Scott said. “Because again, if there are only a certain amount of stalls available, you still have to wait. So once a student checks back into the classroom, then your pass is activated to go to the restroom."
Senior Jeremyah Foster said the limited bathroom passes are a challenge because a lot of students create passes at the same time.
"So once you create a pass, you can be in line - say the 30th person in line, you got to wait till all 29 people to use the bathroom, to go to the bathroom,” he said. “And then when it's time to go to the bathroom, the bell would ring. We have to change class, have to wait five more minutes to create another pass to go to the bathroom again."
He said he doesn't like to wait too long because holding it could cause health problems, so he gets his parents involved by texting them to call the school. Foster said once the system finally grants him permission to go, his passes usually last five minutes.
“So the time you get up at your seat, get the pass from the teacher, use the bathroom, come back, have to be in a five minute range,” he said. “Sometimes it can be difficult because no telling how you have to use the bathroom.”
Scott said the platform sets a time for how long the pass will last based on how far the student is from their destination. Scott also said there are three main bathrooms available to the 1,100 students in the school.
Scott said teachers can override the Smart Pass system if a student needs extra time on their pass or if they run out of passes for the day. He also said parents can file official documentation with the school or make teachers aware if their student needs additional exceptions.