Student IDs change color for security

Each grade level to get separate color IDs

Starting this fall, student IDs will have different colors by grade. The change is for security reasons. ID cards may not be as vibrant as they appear in these photos. Photos courtesy Lifetouch.

By Matthew Proestel

 

When students return in the fall for the 2018-19 school year, student IDs will vary in color based on students’ grades. The freshman IDs will be red, the sophomore IDs will be orange, the junior IDs will be blue and the senior IDs will be green.

The security office coordinated this change with Lifetouch, the photography company that takes school photos. The change will help security to easily monitor students who leave for lunch, security team leader Cherisse Milliner said.

“The IDs have changed color specifically to help control who leaves for lunch but will also help with other school events,” Milliner said.

Christine Rocca, sales representative for Lifetouch, says that students having different colored school IDs per grade level is common and has been done at other schools.

“I think it is a good idea for security purposes because it allows administrators and security guards to quickly identify individuals based on their ID color,” Rocca said. “Reading the fine print on the ID cards can be difficult when you have to check a lot of them back-to-back.”

While some students are frustrated that it will be harder for non-seniors to go out, specifically juniors, others believe the colored IDs are useful for security.

“I think it’s a good way to differentiate between the grades, but I wish that they picked school colors,” junior Ethan Schwartz said.