We all want students to be present for every minute of instructional time but, students will sometimes need to leave class for valid reasons. The goal of a hallway policy is to create clear expectations for when and how these cases are handled.

There are many benefits of creating a consistent hallway policy:

1. Consistency between teachers and classrooms
2. A clear policy leaves no room for debate or discussion
3. Smart planning reduces hallway traffic and risk of misbehavior

Follow the steps in this guide to create – and follow through on – consistent hallway policies using LiveSchool.

Before customizing your LiveSchool site, there are a few questions you should answer as a leadership team. At your next leadership meeting, decide:

1. What are approved reasons for a student to leave class?
2. When are the specific times of the class period students can take a pass?
3. How many of each pass type are allowed per day or week?

Once you have established your policies, you should write them up in a basic document or email or present to your staff.

Let's customize your LiveSchool site to track your hallway policy. First, navigate to Site mode.

Next, choose Edit Your Behavior Rubric. 

Click on the New Category button

Name the category “Hallways”

Click the New Behavior button underneath the Hallways category.

Next, enter the name of the pass type. For instance, “Bathroom” or “Locker”. Select “Pos. Only”, and enter a point value of 0, since students will not earn or lose points when taking a hall pass.

When a student leaves the room, teachers and administrators should track which Hall Pass the student used on the behavior rubric. 

In points mode, select the Student and click Continue. 

Click a Pass.

Add an optional Comment.

Now that teachers track hallway passes, you will have data on your hallway policy. Here are some ways you can use that data in the moment and over time! 

In points mode you can quickly filter your buttons to see who has used a hall pass that day. 

Click Custom Filters.  

Choose Custom from the drop down menu. 

Under the sorting options follow these steps: 

1. Click the undo button
2. Choose “Bathroom” as the only behavior (or another Hall Pass)
3. Save

Then, under Show Behaviors By, toggle to #s. 

These two students have used the bathroom today.

If a student asked to use the bathroom, encourage teachers to view that student’s points from the day – if that student used the bathroom in the period before, chances are they do not need to use the bathroom in their current period.

In points mode, choose a student and click View & Undo Points. 

In View Points, you can see when and why that student used a hall pass.

Hall passes will be tracked on weekly reports so parents can see when and why a student left the classroom. 

On a student’s weekly report, any behavior that was recorded for that student that week will be listed under the behavior history. 

Keep them involved and informed by printing paychecks weekly! Learn how here.