Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Discipline topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Staff favor a schoolwide phone policy; students strongly oppose classroom limits, district will seek more input
Summary
District surveys show staff largely support a schoolwide in-class phone policy while students and parents largely prefer less restriction; administration to use PTAC feedback and include any policy in the 2025–26 student handbook.
O'Fallon Township High School District 203 administrators presented results from separate surveys of staff, parents and students about a possible schoolwide cell-phone policy.
Principal Brent Howe summarized the results: staff members were the most supportive of adopting a schoolwide classroom phone policy (about 80% yes), while parents were divided (roughly 56% said no and 30% yes) and students opposed a classroom ban (about 80% no). On the narrower question of phone use during lunch, students were overwhelmingly permissive (about 99% said phones allowed), parents favored allowing phones during lunch (about 84% yes) and staff were majority supportive (about 68% yes).
Howe said stakeholders differed on how phones should be stored if a classroom restriction were adopted: staff favored a numbered-pouch system in classrooms; parents and students preferred keeping phones in backpacks. The administration told the board it will gather further feedback at the district's PTAC meeting in early May and incorporate recommendations during the spring revision of the 2025–26 student handbook. The board typically approves the annual handbook in June.
Howe also noted state-level discussion of classroom phone limits and said Governor J.B. Pritzker and statewide organizations are pushing for changes at the state level; the administration said it will monitor any incoming statewide guidance but will use local stakeholder data to shape policy recommendations.
No vote was taken; board members asked for additional outreach and clarity in question wording to ensure parents and students understood the options being presented by the survey.
