PRO:
The school’s new tardy policy has stirred up conversation among students. While not everyone agrees with it, many students recognize that the policy offers clear benefits. In fact, it may be doing more good than harm by promoting responsibility and long-term success.
One of the most significant benefits of the new policy is that it motivates students who usually struggle with punctuality. Knowing there’s a real consequence after 10 tardies, many students have started showing up on time more regularly. The policy motivates students who need a push to build better habits by giving them a clear target to stay under. For those who struggle with time management, the policy provides a structure and a reason to take being on time seriously. By giving students a measurable goal and predictable consequences, the school is helping them develop habits that can lead to greater personal responsibility.
Importantly, the policy is not without flexibility. Since tardiness due to a late bus is excused, the students who depend on buses for getting to school on time will not be unfairly penalized. In addition, allowing up to 10 tardies before lunch detention begins offers students grace and understanding rather than immediate punishment.
Lunch detention may not be fun, but it is not just about punishment—it is about redirecting behavior. In detention, students lose access to electronics and have a quiet study period. This setup minimizes distractions and encourages academic focus. Rather than being a meaningless punishment, the detention period serves as a chance to catch up on work or reflect on ways to improve time management.
“I think the tardy policy is good, but it should exclude students who have good GPAs from lunch detention because they’re all caught up with their classwork,” a student from Skyline expressed. Although there are opinions on how the tardy policy can be further perfected, the existence of the tardy policy is clearly necessary.
Though some may see the tardy policy as strict, it’s clear that it aims to support student growth and responsibility. With fairness, clear guidelines, and consequences that reinforce positive behavior, the policy ultimately helps students succeed both in school and beyond.
– Kate
CON:
Since Skyline High School introduced its new tardy policy, fewer students have been arriving late to class, but under the surface, the impact has been more complicated. While the policy may have curbed some chronic tardiness, it’s also created inconsistency, stress, and unintended consequences that affect students unevenly.
Under the new system, being late to class results in a detention. If students don’t serve that detention, they become ineligible for ASB events like school dances. It’s a policy meant to encourage responsibility, but it’s not always applied fairly, and sometimes it punishes students who are doing their best.
I’ve had a teacher mark me tardy even when I walked in just seconds after the bell, while I know other teachers who don’t take attendance until several minutes into class. It’s frustrating that tardiness seems to depend more on who’s teaching the class than on my actual actions. That inconsistency makes the policy feel more like a guessing game than a way to stay accountable.
Mrs. Bird, who teaches IB Physics at Skyline, noted that the results have been mixed. “This year I have seen significantly fewer chronically tardy students coming into my classes,” she said. “That said, there have seemed to be more students who will choose to simply skip a class period rather than come in tardy. There seems to be less consequence for missing a class entirely than there is for coming in a little tardy.”
The policy also doesn’t account for the reasons behind lateness. Traffic delays, carpool issues, or even stopping to help a teacher in the hallway can all lead to tardiness. Under the current system, there’s no room for understanding. Every tardy counts the same, and every missed detention has the same cost.
“The tardy policy definitely makes things worse for students who already struggle with problems and puts more stress on them,” said Ritika R., a sophomore at Skyline. “If the school doesn’t excuse tardiness from things such as late buses or traffic, then that’s definitely something they should take into account.”
The tardy policy is a positive step to improving attendance and encouraging accountability, but the current approach is doing more harm than good.
Instead of applying a blanket punishment for every tardy, the school should distinguish between occasional lateness and repeat offenses. Teachers should follow a standardized system for taking attendance to ensure fairness, and there should be a way to excuse tardiness caused by legitimate issues like traffic delays or family responsibilities.
If Skyline wants students to feel motivated to attend class, the policy needs to be applied consistently and with empathy, not just through one-size-fits-all consequences. Until then, the tardy policy may be doing more to hurt school culture than to help it.
– Sneha
