State guidance on "instructional time" complicates Westlake high school cell-phone policy

The Westlake City Schools superintendent told the board Aug. 11 that a recent communication from the Department of Education and Workforce clarifies the agency's interpretation of "instructional time" to include the full school day, not only classroom periods. The guidance means the district must adjust its existing high-school cellphone policy to meet the state interpretation. Superintendent Dr. Guy said the new interpretation could be difficult to implement at the high school level because high schools lack homeroom periods and because large common areas such as cafeterias will present logistical challenges for staff enforcing a full-day restriction. He said the district has until Jan. 1 to implement changes. Dr. Guy said current local policy language from Neola allows a principal to give approval for cellphone use for instructional purposes, and the superintendent said the update received from the state did not explicitly change that local-principal carve-out. The district will continue to rely on the principal-approval process pending further formal guidance. Board members and staff discussed practical issues such as how students who work or have approved internships would be contacted by employers during the school day, how teachers and principals would enforce rules in common spaces and how course work that uses phones for instruction would be handled. The superintendent said staff will return with more-detailed proposals for high-school logistics. The board did not take formal action at the meeting on the policy; the superintendent said staff will prepare adjustments to implement the state interpretation on a timeline that allows the district to start the school year under current rules and transition high-school practice before Jan. 1, the date mentioned in the guidance.