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Eugene School District 4J

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NEW! Electronic Hall Pass Pilot Program

Digital Hall Pass Pilot Program

picture of a school hallwayIn September 2025, Eugene School District 4J is launching a digital hall pass (or eHall Pass) pilot program at all four of 4J’s high schools and Kelly Middle School. 

This is not a permanent program. It’s a three-month pilot program that 4J is exploring as the district seeks ways to improve safety, minimize classroom disruptions and protect valuable learning time. By December 2025, the district will have reviewed data from the pilot program, gathered feedback from families and staff members, and considered next steps.

4J will hold two rounds of community informational opportunities (details to be announced soon) at the five schools participating in the pilot program: Churchill, North Eugene, Sheldon and South Eugene high schools and Kelly Middle School.

  • First round (September—early October):
    Opportunity for families to learn what the pilot is, how it works, and ask questions.
  • Second round (late November)
    Opportunity for families to hear what the district has learned so far, review feedback, and help shape next steps

What This Pilot Is — and What It Is Not

This pilot is:

  • A modern safety and accountability tool giving staff real-time visibility into student movement to better respond to safety concerns.
  • An efficiency booster that streamlines hallway management and reduces interruptions to classroom learning. Example: Students request passes digitally, teachers approve in seconds, and lessons continue without pause — meaning less time lost and fewer classroom disruptions.
  • A data-informed support tool to help identify patterns and ensure equitable access to instructional time.
  • Part of our culture of care — research shows tools like this can reduce hallway conflicts and foster positive, respectful learning environments.

This pilot is not:

  • A tracking system — The system does not use GPS or monitor students outside the school. It simply records time, purpose, and destination during approved school-hour passes to help ensure safety and reduce disruptions.
  • A replacement for trust — it supports student autonomy while balancing structure and flexibility.
  • A punitive discipline tool — the focus is on support, not punishment.
  • A risk to privacy — strict safeguards are in place to protect student data.

Questions or Concerns?

Building Principal: Contact your school’s front office
District Director of Safety: 541-790-7693
Superintendent’s Office:  541-790-7707 or information@4j.lane.edu

Additional Information

  • The Synergy eHall Pass (EHP) is a digital hall pass system that replaces traditional paper passes. Students request passes on their school laptops through StudentVUE – the platform they use to access their assignmments, schedules and grades and communicate with their teachers. Teachers approve requests in TeacherVUE, if required, and administrators and school safety staff can monitor student locations in real-time to enhance safety and protect instructional time.

    Students can only request a digital hall pass if they:

    • are in an active class period. Students can’t request passes during passing time or outside of school/bell times.
    • have a sufficient amount of minutes left in a class period to accommodate the pass duration.
    • are in the middle of their class period. Students can’t make requests within the first 10 minutes or the last 10 minutes of class

  • We know that privacy matters. Here’s what you need to know:

    • What’s collected: Only destination, time, and duration of approved passes during school hours.
    • What’s not collected: No GPS tracking, no behavioral profiling, and no automatic flagging of frequent users without parent notification.
    • How it’s protected: Access is limited to essential school staff, used only for safety and attendance, and fully complies with federal student privacy laws (FERPA and COPPA)
    • When data is reviewed: Only in situations like chronic absenteeism or significant hallway disruptions — similar to how attendance is already monitored.

    • Full transparency: You’ll receive clear, multilingual information about how the system works.
    • Parent access: You can view your student’s hall pass history via the ParentVUE mobile app.
    • Special accommodations: We will develop individualized plans for students with medical, disability, or other unique needs.
    • Active involvement: You’ll be notified about any hall pass-related discussions tied to behavior or interventions.
    • Your Rights: You can view your student’s hall pass history, request accommodations for individual needs, receive notifications if hall pass data is connected to an intervention, and provide feedback at any time during the pilot.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The eHall Pass system is being explored to:

    • Increase campus safety with real-time visibility of students' intended locations
    • Reduce classroom disruptions and protect valuable learning time
    • Ensure fairness by preventing multiple students from leaving simultaneously
    • Use data responsibly to support student success, rather than penalizing students

  • The eHall Pass system improves safety by:

    • allowing staff to see who is out of class in real time.
    • quickly locating students in emergencies.
    • preventing students from congregating in restricted areas.

    • Monitoring disaggregated data to identify disproportional patterns.
    • Early interventions to support students with health or learning needs.
    • Ensuring equitable access for multilingual families through translated materials.

  • No. The eHall Pass system is designed to streamline, not complicate classroom management. Key features include:

    • One-click approvals in TeacherVUE.
    • Automatic time limits to avoid follow-up interruptions.
    • Built-in safeguards to prevent multiple students leaving simultaneously.
    • Paper backups remain available for outages.

  • No. Teachers retain full authority over when students leave their class. While some schools may require teacher approval for all passes, others may adopt different procedures based on their building’s needs. These decisions will be based at the schools, in collaboration with principals and teacher leadership teams.

  • Yes. Time limits are set by each school based on location. No passes will be issued to students during the first or last 10 minutes of class.

  • Abuse of hall passes, including violating the time limits or bypassing teacher approvals, may result in:

    • warnings and re-training.
    • loss of digital pass privileges.
    • parent notification if misuse is repeated.

  • Families may contact their school principal to discuss:

    • alternative accommodations
    • paper passes in unique cases.
    • special arrangements for students with health or safety needs.

  • Edupoint’s Hall Pass is part of the Synergy platform that 4J primarily uses for student and family data and class rostering. The district has used the Synergy platform for over a decade, so adopting Hall Pass is a natural extension—providing a credible, well-supported system that strengthens safety, accountability, and transparency while aligning with the needs of our students and families. 4J would not have to pay extra as its included in the district's existing contact with Edupoint.