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Palm Beach school board begins implementing Floridacellphone law; debate continues over extending ban to high schools
Summary
Boardmembers discussed Florida House Bill 1105, which bans cellphone use K-8 during the school day. Members directed staff to develop district policy for the mandate and debated whether to include high schools; a workshop was scheduled to return the policy for development.
Board members on May 7 addressed Florida House Bill 1105, the new state law that prohibits student cellphone use during the school day for kindergarten through eighth grade, and directed district staff to develop a local implementation plan while debating whether to extend a ban to high schools.
Board member Edwin Ferguson introduced the topic as a discussion item and said he supported prohibiting phone use at the high-school level as well, calling in-classphone distraction “a problem.” Superintendent Michael J. Burke told the board the district will need to implement the Kthrough8 mandate and that schools already use a range of approaches to limit phone distraction. Burke said policies must balance student safety, instructional needs and operational realities.
Parents and advocates addressed the board during public comment. Jill Coleman, a parent and organizer, outlined implementation options and said districts must have plans ready well before the law takes effect. Rebecca Soilamez and Alicia McCormick presented sample solutions used elsewhere, including low-cost Manila-envelope collection, school lockers and commercial pouches (Yondr). McCormick, the Florida account executive for Yondr, said Yondr has supported large rollouts in Florida and cited examples in which schools reported improved academic performance after adoption.
Board members were divided on whether to apply a ban immediately to high schools. Some members, including Matthew Lane and Marsha Andrews, supported broad prohibitions to reduce distraction and improve classroom culture; others, including Erica Whitfield and Karen Brill, said parents want students to retain phones for emergency notification and preferred a phased approach. Student representative Isabella Marisola, a graduating high school student, told the board she would notify parents via her phone in an emergency.
Chair Karen Brill said the district’s policy development on the issue will proceed through a scheduled workshop and that a policy development item for the required Kthrough8 changes will return on May 28. The board did not adopt final enforcement or funding decisions at the May 7 meeting; members asked staff to return with implementation options, cost estimates, and guidance on exemptions for individualized education plans and medical needs.
