Deer Creek board updates policies to comply with statewide ban on student personal electronic devices

The Deer Creek Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously June 9 to update board policy JFCK to reflect a newly enacted state law that bans personal electronic devices for students "from the start of the school day to the end of the school day." The board also approved a new separate staff policy, F-43, that limits employees’ use of personal devices during the instructional day and encourages use of district-issued devices.

The changes are aimed at putting local policy in line with the state requirement and to give schools guidance on enforcement and communication. "The governor signed into law a mandatory ban on personal electronic devices in all schools in the state from bell to bell last month," said Miss Van Dorn, a district staff member who presented the policy changes to the board. "This includes all cell phones, smartwatches, wireless listening devices, such as AirPods and headphones." The board voted 4-0 to approve the student-device policy update and 4-0 to approve the new employee policy.

Board members and staff said the district will use a multi-pronged approach to implement the ban, including summer and pre‑school-year communications to families and site-level reminders. "We wanna start over the summer educating our families, making sure they understand where this is coming from," Van Dorn said, noting that the district plans districtwide messaging and site communications as the new year approaches. Staff recommended that students secure devices in backpacks or other out-of-sight locations and said the district may purchase locking cabinets to store devices confiscated for violations.

Under the updated policy, students may use district-issued devices such as iPads and Chromebooks during the school day; personal devices are allowed only on school buses and must be put away once instruction begins. Van Dorn said the district already uses monitoring tools on district devices — including a commercial product, Bark, and teacher monitoring software — to detect inappropriate activity on school-issued equipment.

District officials said enforcement will emphasize communication and partnership with families to minimize classroom disruptions. For employees, the new F-43 policy directs staff to favor district-issued devices and to restrict personal-device use to emergencies; disciplinary responses to staff misuse will be handled case by case, the presenter said.

The board’s action updates local policy language to reflect the state law and provides implementation guidance for school sites. School officials said they will begin communications to families this summer and refine site-level procedures before the fall semester.