A new tardy policy has been administered throughout all NISD campuses. Students now must be on time to class by no more than 5 minutes late. If they are, it is no longer counted a tardy, but instead counted as an unexcused absence.

“Encouraging students to get to class on time, gets them there,” Assistant Principal Mr. Burnett said. “To be ready to work, to be ready to be engaged.”

The new policy was only enforced due to the following of the state of Texas law. This change was applied to the whole district, meaning that all NISD schools were affected.

“The state of Texas says that you have to be in school 90% of the time,” Mr. Burnett said. “So it’s not a Mr. Burnett rule, it’s not a Northside rule, it’s the state of Texas.”

The tardy policy is not only a way to fix and monitor attendance around the school; it is also a way to keep the campus safe from outside and inside danger sources. By getting to classes quickly and on time, it can prevent danger and violence from interfering with the school day.

“The more people who are out wandering, the less safe it is,” Assistant principal Ms. Lane said.

The tardy policy not only has an effect on students, but teachers and staff are also included in the district wide change. So far the policy has had a positive effect for teachers and staff throughout the school.

“Teachers get frustrated when kids come in really late.” Ms. Lane said. “They’re finding that it’s easier to teach kids when they’re on time.”

So far in the year, different grade levels have reacted to the policy in different ways. Some positively and some not so much.