Over the summer of 2025, the State College Area School District approved a new ID policy that requires all students in grades 6 through 12 to wear school-issued ID and lanyards at all times while on school grounds. 

The lanyard must be breakaway, and the ID must be clearly visible. This decision was a result of a review of the district’s safety and security protocols after an alleged school shooting attempt at State High last spring. The new ID policy was developed with recommendations from law enforcement and members of the community.

State High Principal Laura Tobias has put significant effort into improving school safety since last spring. “Last spring, when we had a credible threat on the high school, we gathered a lot of feedback from our student body, our community, teachers, like, ‘What do we need to do better,’” Tobias said. 

Tobias continued, “Out of that came a huge concern about IDs and that people weren’t wearing IDs. We didn’t know if they were a student; they could just walk right in, and you could look like a college student, and we would not know. So, from their feedback from the situation that occurred in the spring, we said ‘Okay, IDs is something that we can manage and try to get everyone to wear an ID.”  

Polling From Students

A poll conducted by the Lions’ Digest from Sept. 4 to 8 among 36 students from State College Area High School found that the new policy elicited mixed views. 

When asked if students approve of the new ID policy, 42% of students responded that they disagreed with the new policy, while 39% said they approved of it and 19% stated that they had no opinion. 

When asked how often they keep their IDs visible, 39% said they keep their IDs visible “sometimes,” 36% said that they “never” keep their IDs visible and only 25% of students said that they “almost always”  keep their IDs visible.

“[I’m having a hard time seeing why] it’s necessary [to have] students wear lanyards,” sophomore Rishi Patel said. “Because they [already] have security cameras that monitor us, they can see who gets in and who gets out.”  

Students were also polled on if they had lost, misplaced, or broken their IDs. 89% of students said that they hadn’t lost their ID, while 11% said they had, with one respondent saying that they had to get a replacement ID three or more times already. 

Sophomore Edmond Li said, “Something I don’t like about the student IDs is that they snap off really easily, cause they’re not really held together very strong[ly].” 

Adapting To The New Policy 

Despite some difficulty with students adapting to the new policy, Tobias is attempting to find new ways to get students used to the new policy. 

“We know to create a new habit it takes weeks,” Tobias said. “I’m working with student council and other groups, leader groups, and asking, ‘Is there anything else we can do?’” 

One idea that Tobias is looking into is clubs making pins to decorate their lanyards, and once a student has a certain number of pins, they can earn items at the Roar Store. Additionally, Tobias is looking into working with the IT department to see if there are other locations in the school that students could use their IDs. 

“I really would like you to be able to use your card to swipe at lunches. The more you use your ID for a purpose, the more it becomes part of your routine,” Tobias said. “Could we use it in the library to sign out books? Could we maybe use it in the fitness center to sign in for attendance?”

Tobias and her team are actively working towards further integrating IDs into everyday life and State High, and are looking to stay positive throughout the whole process.         

“Keeping it positive and always reminding people that this is safety,” Tobias said. “This is about keeping our community safe, and this is what we do together to do that.”