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MSBA tells districts to prepare for Aug. 28 phone ban and new extracurricular access for homeschooled students
Summary
At the Lindbergh board meeting, MSBA policy staff said Senate Bill 68 will prohibit student use or display of personal communication devices during the instructional day starting Aug. 28, and a separate law requires districts to allow homeschooled/family-paced and virtual students to participate in athletics and co-curriculars.
Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) policy staff told the Lindbergh School District Board of Education that two recent legislative changes will require districts to update student policies before the school year starts.
Susan Goldhammer, MSBA's chief labor, law and policy officer, said Senate Bill 68 imposes a strict restriction on student use of personal communication devices "essentially from bell to bell, throughout the instructional day," including lunch and passing periods, and that the law goes into effect Aug. 28. "Once the law goes into effect, August 28, this will be a complete ban," Goldhammer said.
Goldhammer also said the legislature passed a law requiring districts to allow resident students who are homeschooled under family-paced education or who attend virtual schools to have an opportunity to participate in district athletics, fine arts and co-curricular activities even if the child is not enrolled in the district. "That's kind of a big change," she said, and MSBA expects districts to receive more inquiries from parents as the school year begins.
MSBA staff told the board that policy updates cannot be distributed until the governor signs the bills and that districts should not fall behind in adopting required policy revisions. Goldhammer said MSBA will help districts update policies and that MSBA typically issues multiple policy updates each year; this legislative session may require additional updates.
The MSBA report also noted leadership changes and upcoming regional meetings and conferences; board members were directed to MSBA resources for full policy guidance and the recorded interview with Goldhammer.
