Student-led task force will propose updated phone policies, community norms and digital literacy work this summer
Summary
The district's Personal Electronic Device Task Force, chaired by Lisa Cabocha and including student representatives, is conducting stakeholder surveys and plans phased recommendations: policy proposals in June, community norms by September, and digital-literacy recommendations in mid-fall.
The Personal Electronic Device Task Force, chaired by Lisa Cabocha, told the School Committee on May 5 that it has convened 19 members, conducted two in-person meetings and launched an “environmental scan” of policies and practices across the district.
The task force — which includes student members who helped develop a student survey — said it is surveying caregivers, teachers and students, and planning additional outreach to families who may not access email or online surveys. Lisa Cabocha described three central recommendation areas: “building policies, community norms, and digital literacy.”
Timeline and deliverables the task force reported: - Early recommendations on policy changes are expected at the committee’s June meeting. - Community norms recommendations are planned for late summer or very early in the 2025–26 school year (September). - Digital literacy curriculum and programming recommendations are expected in mid-fall.
Student representative Ishkan Ishkanian and another student presenter were cited as active contributors to the surveys and the task force’s research. The task force said it will present survey results and proposed next steps at the committee’s next meeting.
