A Stupid Policy

I can agree with ID badges.  I can agree with ID badges that are color-coded, especially if that color-coding grants access to certain areas on or, in the case of the school mentioned below, off campus.  But I can't agree with badges that identify how well a student is doing in school.  May as well just have students carry around a copy of their transcript:

A high school that requires some students to wear ID badges announcing their failing grades is causing bullying and public ridicule, especially for students with learning disabilities, and has caused the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to step in.

Mingus Union High School in Cottonwood, Ariz., issues ID badges for all students to hang around their necks — freshmen and sophomores wear red-colored cards and juniors and seniors wear gray, both of which are school colors. “These are standard badges worn by students at schools across the nation issued in large part as identification in the case of a school shooting,” attorney Susan Segal, who is representing the school, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “At Mingus, older kids are allowed to leave campus for lunch, and their colored badges indicate their grade level to security guards.”

But according to the Arizona chapter of the ACLU, upperclassmen who struggle in classes must also wear red badges (aka “scarlet badges” of shame) with numbers that indicate their repeated grade level if their marks don’t improve. “Not surprisingly, students forced to wear the bright-red badges have experienced increased bullying, public ridicule, and shaming by other students and teachers,” reads a Dec. 28 letter from the ACLU to superintendent Genie Gee.