Westville board reviews state-required ban on student personal devices during instructional day

At the Aug. 11 Westville City Schools Board of Education meeting, district staff presented a first reading and explanation of a new personal communication devices policy required by the state budget bill that will prohibit student access to cell phones and similar devices during the instructional day. The policy, staff said, will not change long-standing elementary expectations — where devices already must be powered off and stored — but will significantly change secondary practice because the new state law “dictates that students cannot have access at any time during the instructional day,” staff member Monica Asher said. Asher added principals and teachers developed a consistent, district-wide approach before enforcement begins. The district told the board the policy includes multiple, stated exceptions. Students may use devices if a…