High school students in the Fort Zumwalt district must continue wearing identification badges, at least through this school year.

For months, Board of Education member Laure Schmidt has been pushing to change or eliminate the policy, which requires students at the district's five high schools to wear ID badges at all times during the school day.

Schmidt tried again during the board's Jan. 17 meeting, supporting a policy revision that would have eliminated the rule that students wear the badges. The new policy would have required students to carry the badges on them, as in their pocket or purse, and be able to present them at a staff member's request.

The board voted 6-1 against the change, with Schmidt casting the only vote for it. Members Michael Price, Barbara Story, Scott Grasser, Mike MacCormack, Renee Porter and Carol Russell voted against it.

Schmidt said principals have reported that students do not take the badge policy seriously. The policy is almost impossible to enforce, she said.

"The kids hate wearing the name badges," she said. "The kids realize there is no point to the policy. Research shows it does not make schools safer."

Russell said she did not think the proposed revision was important enough that it was worth changing the rules midway through the school year. The board typically reviews policies during the summer, making changes when school is not in session.

Grasser said the change could encourage more rule breaking. If the district told students they no longer had to wear badges, the kids might test the limits to see what else they could get away with, he said.

Story said the board would send the wrong message if it changed a policy because students were refusing to comply.

The plastic badges bear the student's name and photo, information about the school and a bar code they can use to buy lunch or check out books from the library. About the size of a driver's license, the badges hang by a lanyard from the student's neck. Faculty and administrators also wear ID badges.

Superintendent Bernard DuBray said the district adopted the badge policy in 1998 after a hostage situation at Fort Zumwalt South High School revealed a need for more stringent security measures. The ID badges made it easier to tell at a glance whether someone was authorized to be inside a school, he said.

"At the time, it made a lot of sense," DuBray said. "Now we have a lot of tools we did not have before. We've added school resource officers in buildings, and all the high schools have security cameras. It is becoming more difficult to get kids to wear the ID badges."

Last summer, the board reduced the penalty for not wearing a badge. Previously, students with five offenses would receive a full day's detention. The board reduced the punishment to four hours.

DuBray said the district began studying the badge system six months ago to determine whether it was worth continuing. Every month, principals report the percentage of students who are complying with the policy.

Fort Zumwalt West High School reported the greatest number of compliance problems. Administrators there issued 270 warnings for non-compliance in October, 153 in November and 41 in December.

Schmidt said school officials were wasting time disciplining kids for not wearing badges, time that would be better spent focusing on education.

DuBray said he thought it was good for kids to get used to wearing badges because most would have to wear similar identification when they join the workforce.