Lake Dallas ISD updates student code of conduct, adopts state-mandated cell-phone restriction

Lake Dallas Independent School District trustees on July 21 approved updates to the district's student code of conduct and adopted a new local cell-phone policy required by state law.

Chief Operations Officer John Modica told the board the biannual code-of-conduct update reflects recent legislation. "One single person has to be named as the campus behavior coordinator," Modica said, and the district will designate that role most often to campus principals.

The board-approved code adds an explicit prohibition of conduct motivated by antisemitism, names short-barrel firearms in the prohibited-weapons list, and expands the tobacco prohibition to include nicotine pouches. The code now also explicitly addresses academic dishonesty using artificial intelligence.

Modica said the discipline for possession of e-cigarettes or related paraphernalia is no longer an automatic DAEP placement; under the revised code the offense carries a 10-day in-school suspension as the prescribed disciplinary response in many cases. He emphasized that the district will keep an internal discipline matrix so campuses apply consequences consistently.

Separately, under House Bill 1481 the district adopted FNEC(Local), the campus policy that prohibits students from accessing personal communication devices while on school property during the school day. Modica said the district will exercise its local control in the administrative regulation and intends to allow students to bring devices to campus but require them to be stored and powered down: "Students can have their cell phone devices to campus, but we are going to require them to be stored," he said.

Exceptions in the policy include devices required by an Individualized Education Program or Section 504 plan, devices prescribed by a physician for medical monitoring, and use ordered as part of emergency operations or safety protocols. The board directed staff to develop an implementation schedule and a clear offense-response matrix so principals can carry out the policy with "grace," Modica said.

Trustee Tucker moved to approve the code-of-conduct changes; Trustee Collier seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Why it matters: the changes align district discipline practices with recently passed Texas legislation and clarify campus responsibilities and permitted exceptions. Lake Dallas ISD will communicate the discipline matrix and the cell-phone rules to families and staff before the school year begins.

Ending: The board approved both the student code of conduct updates and the cell-phone policy; detailed administrative regulations and the campus discipline matrix will be provided to principals and released to families ahead of school start.