By Andy Gries, Product Manager, PBIS Rewards & Hall Pass Plus
Many schools today are still managing student movement with paper passes, verbal sign-outs, or quirky physical objects like plungers and toilet seats. While these approaches may seem harmless, they often create inconsistency, disrupt instructional time, and leave staff without clear visibility into where students are.
When you step back and ask, “What is a hall pass really for?,” the answer becomes clear: it’s not just about permission to leave the classroom. It’s about accountability, safety, and structure.
That’s why we built Hall Pass Plus—to help schools move beyond outdated systems and modernize how they manage student movement.
Why Outdated Hall Pass Systems Create Risk
When students are out of class, supervision often ends. Without visibility into where they’re going or how long they’ve been gone, schools face real risks—from vaping and bullying in unsupervised restrooms to missed instructional time and even potential safety incidents during emergencies.
In some schools, administrators have discovered surprising misuse of that hallway time, including one where students set up an actual bathroom dance party with lights and music.
But even without dramatic examples, the day-to-day impact adds up. If a student leaves class every period, teachers may not realize how much total learning time is being lost. Meanwhile, staff have no centralized way to know who is in the hallway at any given moment.
These gaps in oversight aren’t just inconvenient—they’re a school safety concern and a barrier to equitable discipline.
A Digital Hall Pass System That Supports Safety & Structure
Hall Pass Plus is a digital hall pass system that gives schools real-time oversight and consistent processes for managing student movement. It replaces informal or paper-based systems with a streamlined, mobile-friendly platform that works across devices—including desktops, Chromebooks, and cell phones.
With Hall Pass Plus, staff can:
- Issue and end passes for students quickly and easily
- Monitor who is out of class, for how long, and where they are
- Set individual and building-wide limits on hall pass usage
- Prevent unsafe meetups with blocking rules
- Track patterns and generate data reports
- Use self-serve kiosks for minimal classroom disruption
In the event of an emergency, staff can instantly see where students are expected to be and whether or not they are on a hall pass. It’s quick, accurate, and gives administrators confidence in their ability to keep track of students and improve school safety.
Turning Hall Pass Data Into Actionable Insight
Every electronic hall pass issued in the system becomes a data point that helps educators make more informed decisions about behavior, intervention, and support.
For example:
- Students who consistently leave for the nurse at the same time each day may need attention for a medical or emotional concern.
- Overlapping passes between the same students could indicate a need for social or behavioral intervention.
- Unusual patterns in specific locations or during certain class periods may signal environmental or instructional challenges.
The reporting tools in Hall Pass Plus allow staff to explore these trends quickly, down to the individual student, teacher, time of day, or location. And when issues arise—like restroom vandalism—administrators can instantly review who had access to that area during the relevant time.
This visibility supports early intervention and aligns closely with the goals of a PBIS framework: promoting positive behavior, preventing escalation, and responding to student needs equitably.
Creating Consistency Across Classrooms
Another major benefit of digitizing your hall pass system is consistency.
When each teacher uses a different method—sticky notes, whiteboards, verbal permission—it’s hard to hold students accountable and even harder to analyze trends. Students receive mixed messages. Staff operate in silos. And administrators are left without reliable data.
Hall Pass Plus creates a shared, schoolwide structure. Everyone from students, teachers, and administrators operate from the same rules and the same real-time system. That consistency supports fairness, reduces confusion, and strengthens school safety procedures.
And for schools already using PBIS Rewards, Hall Pass Plus integrates seamlessly. It connects to positive behavior tracking, behavioral referrals, and other PBIS tools to give schools a full picture of what’s happening in and out of the classroom.
Rethinking the Role of the Hall Pass
In today’s schools, the hall pass isn’t just about letting a student leave the room. It’s about:
- Minimizing disruption to learning
- Ensuring accountability and structure
- Monitoring student movements
- Detecting issues early through data
- Keeping students safe and engaged
A strong hall pass solution contributes to a stronger school culture. It supports instructional time, promotes equitable treatment, and reinforces expectations without adding extra work for staff.
Ready to Reclaim the Hall?
If your school is still using paper-based passes, or relying on inconsistent methods that leave staff guessing, Hall Pass Plus can help. It’s a fast, flexible, and educator-friendly solution that gives you the visibility and structure you need to make every minute count.
To learn more, watch a replay of our recent Hall Pass webinar, or connect with the PBIS Rewards team to explore how Hall Pass Plus can support your students and staff.
About the Author: Andy Gries
Andy has been with PBIS Rewards from the beginning, witnessing its impact evolve from helping a few local schools to supporting thousands of educators nationwide. As a former educator, Andy brings a strong blend of technical understanding and customer empathy to every initiative. Andy is passionate about building products that make educators’ jobs easier while helping students succeed academically and socially. His work has been at the forefront of integrating the products within the Navigate360 suite, providing the type of holistic support schools need to set a course for zero incidents.