The PHS late policy is very flawed in the opinions of many PHS students. Only three unexcused late mornings are allowed per year.

For some kids that do not have a car, or live far away from the school, finding a ride to school every day can be very difficult. PHS students have very busy and stressful lives. Some days it can be almost impossible for a student to get to school on time. No matter how valid one’s explanation is for being late, if it is the 4th time in a year, you will not be excused and you will have to have a lunch detention.

This policy is too strict and leaves too many students having to go to lunch detentions when they could be doing something useful instead. When asking Ms. Lyons, PHS Principal, what she thought about the late policy, she said “In respect for the teacher, students should not come in late to classes in order to not distract the students or disrupt a lesson.” While this is a valuable opinion, a minute of disrupted class time is not equal to spending lunch in the detention room silently.

Unfortunately, this issue does not seem like it will be changing anytime soon, so students should try to get to school on time in order to avoid lunch detention.