Pewaukee board adopts restricted phone policy for high school, codifies handbook rules

The Pewaukee School Board on Monday approved a restricted version of Policy 5300.15 governing personal communication devices at the high school, voting 4–2 to codify rules already enforced in the student handbook.

Under the policy the board adopted, personal communication devices are prohibited on school grounds during school hours for students in grades 4K through eighth grade. For high school students (grades 9–12), devices are prohibited during instructional time; the adopted text preserves a defined allowance for use during lunchtime and the start/end-of-day (but not during class). Board members discussed whether to further limit use during passing periods; the motion approved left the language as presented, which excludes passing time from the policy’s non-instructional allowance.

Administrators and teachers provided enforcement and survey data to the board. The high school reported about 895 students in the building and, six to seven weeks into the school year, 103 first-time device violations and about 25 second-or-third violations. Discipline for infractions is tiered: first-time confiscation returned at the end of the day; second-time confiscation returned only after a parent picks it up; third-time offenses result in a required parent meeting and a short-term contract (two weeks) during which the student must check the phone into school each morning.

District staff and a large majority of teachers told board members in a faculty survey that stricter enforcement of phone expectations has reduced in-class disruptions, reduced the need for teachers to police devices and improved student attention during instruction. Administrators said most teachers credited consistent enforcement, especially at the classroom entry, with the improvement.

Some board members argued for a full ban, calling phone use an ‘‘addiction’’ for some students; others favored the lunchtime compromise to avoid administrative burdens policing short passing windows and to preserve a modest student downtime. The board also discussed practical logistics: the high school’s schedule includes three staggered lunch waves and brief passing periods, which would make a pure time-based ban harder to enforce without additional staff.

The policy vote codified the handbook enforcement as district policy; board members directed administration to report back on enforcement numbers later in the year. The board also agreed that it could revisit the policy if spring data or further faculty input suggested a different approach.

Votes at a glance

- Policy 5300.15, "Personal Communication Devices" (restricted version) — Motion to adopt: approved 4–2. (No motioner/seconder names specified in the meeting record; tally recorded by the chair.) - Consent agenda (minutes, correspondence) — approved (voice vote: all in favor). - Business affairs report (committee update) — accepted (voice vote: all in favor). - Board goals — approved (voice vote: all in favor). - Motion to enter closed session under Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(c) — approved by roll call; board entered closed session.

Discussion vs. decision

Board members requested continued monitoring and more detailed spring and year-end reports. Administrators will keep providing enforcement counts, and the board asked for a follow-up survey in the spring. The formal decision was to adopt the restricted policy as written; enforcement practices remain the same as implemented in the student handbook and will continue at the administration’s direction.

Ending

Board leaders said the vote formalizes current practice while preserving the option to revisit the policy later in the school year based on enforcement data and staff feedback.