The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Board on Aug. 7 approved an updated student code of conduct and a district policy to implement House Bill 14'181, which restricts student use of personal communication devices on school property during the school day.
District staff explained that statewide legislative changes required updates to the code. Key changes included eliminating a statutory limit on the length of in-school suspension (ISS), adding language to allow suspension of K'2 students in limited circumstances, new requirements for campus behavior coordinators, and expansions of expulsion-eligible offenses (including certain felonies, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and assault on a school employee) that can be considered even if conduct occurs off campus in defined cases.
Student-services staff described a district procedure to implement HB 1481: students must power off and stow personal communication devices in backpacks from first bell to last bell (district staff may set classroom placement of backpacks); devices confiscated will require a parent pickup and an office referral will be generated. The district will allow students to use school phones to contact families for urgent changes; campuses will post announcements and use ParentSquare for time-sensitive messages. The district also plans phased technical adjustments (for example, multi-factor authentication changes that affect dual-enrollment students) and exemptions for IEP/504 medical needs or district-issued instructional devices.
Administrators presented an escalating sanction schedule for repeated violations and emphasized a communication plan to inform parents and students in advance. Trustee Kim Brady asked about constructed-response scoring on STAR and appealed items, and Trustee Ileana Garza Rojas asked for clear parental FAQs. The board adopted the student code of conduct and the personal-communication-device policy (FNCE local) as presented; the vote on the code of conduct was 6'00 in favor.
Why it matters: The policy will change what students may carry and use during the school day and affects classroom management, parent communications and special-education accommodations. Administrators stressed that the district will actively communicate changes before Aug. 12 and that exceptions will be managed case-by-case.
Next steps: District communications will share FAQs, campuses will present the procedures to students and families during back-to-school events and the district will monitor implementation early in the year.