A student should not have to feel anxious about asking to use the bathroom. However, in many schools today, that is exactly what is happening.

Digital systems like Securely passes and SmartPass have transformed a basic human need into something timed, monitored, and tracked. Students must wait for approval and know that every minute outside the classroom is being recorded somewhere in a database. What was once a simple interaction is being recorded somewhere in the database. What was once a simple interaction between a student and a teacher now feels closer to surveillance. And this semester, that surveillance arrived at our school with the rise of the Securely bathroom pass.

Schools defend these systems by pointing to real problems. Vaping, vandalism, fights, and skipping class have become serious concerns on campuses across the country. According to the CDC’s National Youth Tobacco Survey, millions of middle and high school students have used e-cigarettes, and bathrooms are one of the most common locations where students report seeing vaping. Administrations want accountability, and digital hall pass systems promise data and tracking, at the cost of control.
The question isn’t whether schools should care about safety. In fact, I agree that those problems need to be combated. But the question here is whether tracking every student’s trip to the bathroom is the right solution. 

First, digital bathroom passes punish everyone for the actions of a few. Most students are not vaping, vandalizing, or wandering the halls. However, the system treats every student as a potential problem. Instead of targeting the students actually breaking the rules, schools create a blanket policy that makes ordinary students feel bad for doing something normal. That’s just collective punishment, the exact same issue with the Yondr pouches also implemented this year.

Secondly, these systems damage trust. School is supposed to teach responsibility, but responsibility can’t grow when students are always being monitored. If every hallway trip has to be approved, timed, and logged, the message is very clear: students are no longer trusted. A 2025 Brown University Annenberg working paper found that schools are increasingly using bathroom surveillance tools in response to vaping, drug use, and vandalism, but also raised concerns about privacy and the normalization of monitoring in school restrooms. That should really alarm us. Bathrooms are one of the few places in school where students should still have basic dignity.

And most importantly, digital bathroom passes hurt students with legitimate needs. Some students have medical conditions. Some have stomach issues. Many have periods, anxiety, or anything personal that they don’t want to be turned into a data point. A student who is on her period would obviously use the restroom more than she would normally, I know many people would feel uncomfortable knowing that is being logged/tracked. Nobody should have to worry that using the bathroom “too long” will look suspicious. A basic human need should not come with a timer.

And finally, surveillance does not even solve the root problem! If students are vaping, schools should invest in prevention, counseling, adult supervision, and education. Tracking bathroom passes may catch some students, but it does not explain why students are vaping in the first place.

That’s the problem with these digital passes: they make school feel controlled without always making them more supportive. 

I’m not asking for unlimited freedom. I know that rules and safety matters. But dignity matters too. A school can address vaping without turning every bathroom trip into an entry in a database. A school can hold students accountable without building a culture of suspicion.

A bathroom pass should not feel like a digital leash. At the end of the day, if schools truly want students to act responsibly, they need to treat them as people capable of responsibility.