Redmond board adopts personal electronic device policy with new retrieval and meeting rules
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Summary
The Redmond School District Board of Directors unanimously adopted policy JFCEB on personal electronic devices tonight, adding language clarifying the PED acronym, retrieval procedures and allowing virtual parent meetings to recover confiscated devices; the policy will be revisited in six months.
The Redmond School District Board of Directors unanimously adopted policy JFCEB, the district's personal electronic device (PED) policy, after several amendments and clarifying edits during tonight's meeting.
The board approved the policy as amended; the changes include inserting the acronym "PED" after the first use of "personal electronic device," clarifying that confiscated devices will be held in the front office until a temporary meeting with an administrator is arranged, and explicitly allowing the retrieval meeting to be held virtually or by phone if necessary.
The policy update also clarifies that district-issued devices (for example, Chromebooks) differ from personal devices and that district devices remain subject to district filtering and firewalls. The board asked staff to prepare communications for families explaining the change.
Board members debated how long a device should be held when confiscated. One board member noted the difference between returning a device at the end of the school day and requiring a parent meeting to retrieve it, arguing a meeting requirement could extend retention beyond the school day. A staff member recommended striking the phrase "until the end of the school day" and replacing it with language specifying a temporary meeting at the front office, after which the parent or guardian may retrieve the PED. The board also agreed the parent meeting could be virtual or by phone when necessary.
Board members asked that the policy be revisited in six months to evaluate how the procedures are working in practice.
"The parent or guardian must have a meeting, virtual or in person, with an administrator or dean of students before a PED is released from PED jail," one board member said during the discussion.
The motion to adopt policy JFCEB as amended passed unanimously.
Less critical procedural details and next steps: staff will post district communications about the policy to families and schedule the six-month review during a future meeting.