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Parents, educators press school committee for bell‑to‑bell phone ban; Reconnect Western Mass lays out evidence
Summary
A parent‑led group presented a multi‑part case for a districtwide "bell‑to‑bell" phone ban at the May 8 meeting, asking the committee to adopt a policy banning personal devices during supervised school hours and to stop using social media for school‑to‑student communication.
Northampton — Reconnect Western Mass, a parent and teacher coalition, presented a proposal May 8 asking the Northampton School Committee to adopt an all‑day, districtwide ban on students’ personal electronic devices and to prohibit school‑initiated social‑media communication with students.
"Schools did not create this problem and parents did not create this problem," speaker Kat Allen said during the presentation, describing the coalition’s work with regional partners and school leaders who have implemented similar policies. The group asked the committee to approve a policy that would bar personal devices during the entire school day — "bell‑to‑bell" — including lunch and passing periods, with limited exceptions for medical needs and IEP…
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