[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6586637,"mediaKeyId","5456895-51b8c0afc9780075b61eba3f5f4b2f78","parentId",5456895,"title","Beacon City School District previews steps to implement new state ban on student internet-enabled devices","audioSeconds",928,"startMs",3191000,"endMs",2263000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5456895-51b8c0afc9780075b61eba3f5f4b2f78&start=3191&end=2263","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5456895-51b8c0afc9780075b61eba3f5f4b2f78/thumbnail_3191000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6586637/New-York/Beacon-City-School-District-previews-steps-to-implement-new-state-ban-on-student-internet-enabled-devices","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586637-28c9fd23ea04eb22709ddd735596f719/orig.mp4?Expires=1770818360&Signature=Dw0GrW2phaqU2Stq82gFNPECy8ZRkVlHzki6Ut9TfBKqs3wT5HSouZXzR5aBDJNkROQh8X7xKEqvn15zr-bI9twULtkTOvw1usLHAwsDA4ygiz9zhjzqoLH~gNDR~XT8PKgkT9bZ-SVLYoiMlRTb0O4LDKXoWKHcOG-W~AvwaUErNm~~aHhTXLcpFKBol4rg77L1rp0w1r-eQDVDRlnBxBnR5tzF7t40ENlMRw8Rwl80YO-7t23xjR79PdwWvIZ8XXafDeywz4MrHGQgZkvO7SNvn1o-aa09Qj8o0LY-YocO9oWszH19xuaoXS3TqxhomvTGPMupWspVom-5vWUi9Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-07-24T03:15:09.777Z","article","Beacon City School District Superintendent Matt Levine said the district will adopt a policy by Aug. 1 to comply with a newly enacted state law that bans student possession of internet-enabled personal devices \"from bell to bell\" on school grounds.

Levine said the law requires districts to adopt a policy and identify one or more storage options for devices, and to provide families with ways to contact students during the day through school staff. \"This has been revised to align with new state law regarding Internet enabled personal devices, AKA mostly phones,\" he said.

The law's timing and details prompted the district to collect community feedback. Levine said the district received 278 survey responses roughly evenly split among students, staff and parents. He said students told district staff they felt they had complied with the previous policy and were surprised by the change; teachers asked for clear, consistent language and specific storage solutions; and parents expressed mixed views, with about 30–40% raising concerns about reaching their children during the day.

Levine described the district's draft approach: elementary students will keep devices stored in backpacks; middle- and high-school students will store devices in lockers at the start of the day. For instances when a student is found accessing a device during the school day, administrators will apply graduated consequences: first offense, the device is stored in a lockable administrator locker for the rest of the day; second offense, for five days; third offense, 10 days; repeated offenses can result in daily storage for the remainder of the year. Levine said the district bought small lockable lockers for administrator offices to handle first-day incidents.

The district considered a commercially marketed product (referred to by staff as Yonder). Levine said a preliminary estimate to outfit the two secondary schools with a Yonder-style system was about $72,000, and \"probably more like $80,000\" with additional required parts. By contrast, the state allocated $13,000 to the district this summer for implementation. \"It's not even anywhere in the ballpark of doing that,\" Levine told the board.

Levine and staff discussed specific exemption pathways written into the law: individualized education programs (IEPs), Section 504 plans, caregiver status applications to principals, and translation services. \"IEPs and 504s very well could be something that's needed, and we're gonna work that out for each individual child,\" Levine said. He added that caregiver status does not mean unlimited device use; approved students will still be required to keep devices stored and will get limited, scheduled access.

Administrators outlined steps to ease the student transition. Brian Soltis (middle school staff) said the district will teach students to use lockers at the start of the year, build practice time into early schedules, and consider modest schedule adjustments such as increasing hallway passing time from four to five minutes to reduce congestion. \"We'll build that in where when they come into school, they'll have additional time, to get to the locker,\" Soltis said.

Staff also reported research and vendor outreach about ways families and students could communicate during the day. The district considered Remind and other third-party messaging tools but said technology vendors raised student-privacy and compliance concerns under student-privacy law (Ed. Law 2-d). High-school and middle-school staff said students will be permitted to use school phones or scheduled Chromebook access, with guidance and monitoring, for limited daytime contact with families.

Levine said the district plans a concentrated communications campaign throughout August with detailed contact pages for families (who to call for urgent pickup, email addresses and phone numbers, and how to apply for exemptions). He said he expects to refine the policy at the board level if adjustments are needed once the year begins.

Why it matters: The district must adopt a policy by Aug. 1 to comply with the state law. The board heard that the available state funds will cover only a fraction of the estimated cost of some storage solutions, and that the district will rely on lockers and other low-cost approaches while the community and staff adapt to a new day-to-day routine for students.

Levine and principals committed to monitoring implementation and bringing adjustments back to the board if needed. \"We're probably gonna have to do that,\" Levine said, describing plans for an FAQ, student and parent communications, and further internal planning in August.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","7/21/25 Beacon City School District Board of Education Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Beacon City School District Superintendent Matt Levine said the district will adopt a policy by Aug. 1 to comply with a newly enacted state law that bans student possession of internet-enabled personal devices during the school day.","taxTitle","BEACON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, School Districts, New York","taxId",38770,"location","New York","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6586633,"Board approves two appointments, executive session and consent items; one item carried with an abstention",32,2291000,2323000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5456895-51b8c0afc9780075b61eba3f5f4b2f78&start=2291&end=2323","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5456895-51b8c0afc9780075b61eba3f5f4b2f78/thumbnail_2291000.jpg","/articles/6586633/New-York/Board-approves-two-appointments-executive-session-and-consent-items-one-item-carried-with-an-abstention","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6586633-00ec3b99e3950cc6240a9bea25414576/orig.mp4?Expires=1770818360&Signature=Row-fp4uQZSPZQvo4EVYGpfgSByBc1BjxgouZNzZ4KXB5ohdv4nF9YApp7jhmv7DTMdHQMwn70~es7C6bKHacioukazbBtj4eiAo95ex3hbrnwnnJd6LwGRYicm4fKf81ztbAwUZYCu6z53kBmqcJ7JGAu7VZzqHLex6P5rgNkuTfbc~epUIUH~59rR3dEziSV0g8tZ~rP1~XSCEPfDWvK~y208X0-HoLymeHs1d1y6lOJNGcEA288k-3F24SrqjtPoz3rbIJHPN6dPYl2Y3nIY3Ux2NjHyuCs6wlFIQxXYEaE0fqy4wvitk7UFRC8-EiO5Z2AJ-QyrvR1W9fYOpoA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Beacon City School District Board of Education approved two personnel appointments, voted to enter executive session, appointed an advocacy liaison to the New York State School Boards Association and approved the consent agenda, with one consent item passing with an abstention.

Appointments
- HH1: The board appointed Marissa Benson as probationary assistant principal at Roundabout Middle School. The motion was seconded by Meredith and the board voted in favor; the chair announced, \"Passes 9 0.\" No individual roll-call votes were recorded in the minutes for this item.

- EE1: The board appointed Grace Racino as probationary physical education teacher at South Avenue Elementary. The motion was seconded by Meredith and the board announced, \"Passes 9 0.\"

Executive session
- The board moved into executive session to review the employment history of a particular individual. The motion passed by voice vote, announced as \"Passes 9 0.\" The board said it would return in about 45 minutes.

Advocacy liaison
- The board approved Meredith Huer as the district's representative to the New York State School Boards Association for the organization's business meeting; the approval was conducted as a roll-call vote with the board's affirmative votes recorded and summarized as \"yes.\" (Transcript records multiple individual affirmative responses during the roll call.)

Consent agenda
- The board approved the consent agenda items listed in the meeting materials; the chair announced the motion passed \"9 0.\" One consent item, 12.21 UW1, was considered separately and passed with one abstention; the chair summarized the result as \"Passes 8 1.\"

Why it matters: These actions complete routine operational business that the district must take before the start of the school year, including staffing decisions and formal representation for statewide advocacy.

No other formal ordinances, resolutions or contracts were adopted or finalized during the public portion of the meeting.","At the July 21 meeting the Beacon City School District Board approved two probationary appointments, moved into executive session, approved an advocacy liaison appointment by roll call, and approved the consent agenda with one item (12.21 UW1) carrying an abstention.","actionData","errors"]

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Beacon City School District previews steps to implement new state ban on student internet-enabled devices

Board approves two appointments, executive session and consent items; one item carried with an abstention