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Sweet Home starts smartphone task force to study districtwide cell-phone policy as governor proposes statewide rule
Summary
A newly formed task force has begun reviewing smartphone, smartwatch and headphone policies and surveying peer districts and students; the committee will hold town halls and consult a small proposed state grant if available.
The Sweet Home Central School District convened a smartphone task force to develop a districtwide policy on phones, smartwatches and similar devices, administrators said.
Doctor Wilson summarized the committee's first meeting, saying members reviewed statewide proposals and district practices and surveyed school-district peers. "The committee was excited to get into the conversation to bring consistency to Sweet Home around a District plan that would support electronic devices in our schools," Wilson said. Members reported meetings with student leaders across school sites and plans for town halls to gather family and student input before finalizing any policy.
State proposal and potential funding: administrators said Governor's proposals include a statewide "bell-to-bell" ban on student device use and that the task force is watching guidance and funding. Task force members estimated a share of a proposed state allocation at roughly $13,000 per district if the total $12 million statewide pool were divided evenly; they characterized that estimate as speculative until the state publishes a grant breakdown.
Next steps: the committee will continue stakeholder outreach, hold town halls, solicit student and parent feedback and align any district policy with the code of conduct. No final policy has been adopted; officials said nothing will be finalized until the task force completes its outreach.
