What’s (in) your bag?

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SPRING VALLEY – Purses could be forced out of vogue and into lockers next year at Hall High School.

In a student handbook change proposed last week, Hall officials seek to lump purses in with backpacks and “other book-carrying devices” — items which were previously banned in classrooms by school policy. If the change goes into effect, students wouldn’t be allowed to take purses into classrooms.

“You bring them (purses) to school – you leave them in your locker,” Superintendent Mike Struna said.

Struna said the policy change is necessary because purses are “hard to monitor and hard to police,” representing yet another place where students can hide illegal drugs, weapons or cell phones.

“Last year, we had some drug incidents,” Struna said in an earlier interview. “We had two expulsions last year of students selling prescription and non-prescription drugs in large zip-lock bags, and obviously those are hidden somewhere and were being taken to class.”

Struna said there’s another reason to get rid of purses in class: Students use them as shields to conceal cell phones, making it easier for them to send text messages during class.

Like many other schools, Hall has a policy banning cell phones in classrooms. In addition, Hall officials have proposed a handbook change which could add iPods and “other music playing devices” to a growing list of electronic devices which also are not allowed in the class.

Struna acknowledged that forcing students to store their purses in school lockers comes with a special set of considerations.

“I know that’s going to be tough because there are feminine issues – but I think there are ways to address that,” he told Hall school board members.

Struna noted other schools, like Mendota High School, have been successful in the past in implementing a purse-free classroom policy. The proposed purse policy would mean students caught with purses in the classroom could earn verbal and written reprimands, detentions or a trip to an isolated learning classroom.

All handbook changes are pending further review by the board.

Hall officials also seek to change the language in the “No Pass, No Play” eligibility section in its student handbook. The district looks to drop paragraphs which state that a student “must maintain a passing grade (or minimum grade of D-) in each course in which the student is enrolled” in order to remain eligible for sports and extracurriculars.

“It sounded like if you failed something, you couldn’t play, when in actuality, you can,” Struna said.

IHSA policy says a student who passes at least four of five courses remains eligible for sports, Struna said. He said under proposed changes Hall’s eligibility policy would mirror that rule.

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