The Bixby Board of Education on July 17 approved updates to multiple handbooks and district policies, adding a bell-to-bell ban on wireless devices, expanding the district nondiscrimination statement, and aligning reading and retention language with state law.
Why it matters: The changes affect daily student conduct, emergency procedures and how families may request records from the district.
The board voted to adopt revisions to the elementary, intermediate and secondary student handbooks, certified and support staff handbooks, the student-parent athletic handbook and several policies. The wireless-telecommunication policy now defines wireless devices to include cell phones, smartphones, smartwatches, smart glasses and headphones and specifies that devices must be out of sight and powered off during instructional time ("bell to bell"). The policy retains limited exceptions for medical emergencies and for designated supervised student workspaces. Discipline follows a progressive approach the district described as: first reminder, second call to parent and device held by the office for pickup, and later steps that may include loss of device privileges.
The board added legally required language to the district's nondiscrimination policy to account for antisemitism as described in recent state law changes. The student transfer policy was adjusted to reflect updated capacity figures for grade bands and the district said transfers remain limited by existing capacity. The board updated medication procedures to mirror a state requirement that staff call 911 after administering epinephrine. The retention policy was revised to align with the state Sufficient/Strong Readers Act (SRA) changes. The open-records policy was tightened to require reasonably specific requests, including timeframes and identifiers, before district staff process requests.
Officials said the revisions were largely technical and written to reflect new state law and recently clarified procedures. The board indicated it will provide local implementation details and training to staff, and that some changes, such as how device exceptions are managed in supervised spaces, will be rolled out with school-level protocols before the fall term.
Board members voted unanimously to approve the bundle of handbook and policy updates. Implementation and communication to families and staff were described as next steps.