"We're trying to keep a little bit of a lid on things to keep some order," Stokes said. "But we're asking (teachers) ... don't hold students in if they have that kind of emergency, or get sick or whatever."

There have been times a teacher has escorted a student to the bathroom or observed the hallway to make sure the student actually went where he said he was going to go, Stokes said.

Students haven't liked that. "A lot of people I've talked to say it's awkward and weird," Dabb said.

At other times, Dabb said, teachers have had a class potty break.

Dabb says she sees both sides of the issue. She'll be glad to have an extra minute in between classes.

"Sometimes, classes are out in the boonies," she said. "We need to be able to go to the bathroom."

Rawlins says students should better manage class change time but would support an additional minute between classes. "If it will keep kids in class, yes, and if I wouldn't have to worry about hall passes ... yes, I would (support the change)."

Dabb, however, is uncertain whether petitioners will agree with her. Last she heard, 600 to 700 students had signed the petition calling for loosened hall-pass restrictions.

The petition had not been turned into Stokes' office as of last week, and he said he had only heard of it.

Weber isn't the only school looking at new ways to keep students safe.

For example, Granite School District Police Chief Randy Johnson wants the Granite Board of Education to lock all doors in elementary schools except the front doors and give teachers key cards to get in and out of the building. Secondary schools already have security cameras, and the district has 34,400 listening devices in its schools for night monitoring.

Three elementary schools already are piloting the electronic keys program. Crestview Elementary says it's working well. Students are escorted from relocatables to the main building if need be, keeping them safer. Bathrooms are accessible during recess, and doors are monitored by teachers.

"Its' wonderful. It takes that load off our shoulders," Crestview principal Verneita Hunt said. "Is it perfect? No. Oh, but it sure does help us."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com