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East Ramapo outlines state-mandated student cell-phone policy and local rollout plan
Summary
The board heard how the district will implement a New York State rule banning student phone use during the day: storage devices, building-level plans and translation services will support enforcement; some districts’ locker/pouch solutions were considered but not adopted.
The East Ramapo Central School District told the board it will implement the state-required student cell-phone rule by requiring phones to be silenced and stored for the entire school day. Students who use phones at school may have devices confiscated and held in a secure storage device in the principal’s office.
Superintendent Velusco said the policy is a statewide requirement. District staff said principals and building teams have been informed and that each school will create a local plan for collecting or storing phones. The district purchased storage boxes for principal suites and office areas and intends to issue devices for translations and in-person support.
Trustees asked whether the district had considered Yondr pouches (magnetically sealed pouches used in some districts). Velusco said the district examined them but found them operationally difficult at dismissal because the pouch-unsealing process adds time and has other drawbacks; instead, the district will rely on district-mounted storage devices and building procedures. The district will not reintroduce lockers broadly because many locker banks are in poor condition; students are expected to keep devices in backpacks or purses or to surrender them to administrators during the school day.
Trustees raised concerns about how parents in emergency situations will reach children. Velusco said parents should contact the main office number listed on each school’s website; staff also confirmed principals’ offices will have access to translation tools and that the district has licensed live-translation services for staff use. The district also purchased “Pocketalk” handheld devices and will make them available to guidance counselors, clerical staff and nurses for in-person translation. The district also uses a service called Propio for remote interpreting during conferences.
Building leaders will be reminded of the board-approved policy and will discuss implementation at an upcoming administrative retreat; staff said some schools have already piloted non-cell-phone enforcement with limited numbers of confiscations and that principals and administrators will follow a procedure recorded in the district’s eSchool system to notify administrators when a phone has been used in class, reducing teacher–student confrontations.
The district acknowledged an expected initial adjustment period and said it will revisit logistics based on feedback and experience across buildings.
