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 physician provides a written medical statement requiring device access; if device use is included in a student’s individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan; or if a teacher obtains advance administrative approval for instructional use. For the latter, teachers will submit a short Google form to notify administrators, currently requested at least 48 hours before planned instructional use so principals can ensure consistent application. On enforcement, staff said middle school responses will emphasize warnings and family communication, while high schools will follow class meetings, advance warnings and, if necessary, administrators removing devices and holding them in the office until the end of the day. "Ultimately, administrators will work with teachers to remove the devices from the classroom and hang on to them in the office until the end of the day when a student can come pick them up," Asher said. Staff emphasized that offices will label and store confiscated devices rather than asking classroom teachers to secure expensive personal property. Staff also acknowledged operational questions discussed during public board Q&A. On student privacy when a device is confiscated, Asher told the board administrators are “not in the practice of going through student cell phones” but that she would raise the privacy question with Superintendent Reeves. For English learners and other students who sometimes rely on translation apps, staff said such instructional translation is an allowable use when authorized by the teacher and principal. The presentation noted that the district serves nearly 15,000 students and expects some implementation challenges: "With a little over 14,000, almost 15,000 students, there are bound to be some issues along the way," staff said, and the district will update the board as administrators and teachers work through early problems. Because the board considered the policy as a first reading and staff characterized it as required by state law, no final board adoption occurred that evening; staff described the expected enforcement approach and described training, communication to families in multiple languages and processes for medical and special-education exemptions. The board asked staff to clarify several details during future updates, including the privacy protocol for confiscated devices and how the district will record and store devices after repeated infractions. Staff said they would return with additional detail as the policy moves from first reading to adoption.