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Board debates wording change to agenda policy; BYOD revision and cell-phone enforcement draw questions
Summary
The Norfolk School Board on May 7 discussed a wording change in its agenda-preparation policy and updates to a bring-your-own-device regulation aligned with Executive Order 33, with board members raising procedural and enforcement concerns.
The school board spent a portion of its May 7 work session reviewing two proposed policy updates and discussing practical enforcement of a bring-your-own-device rule aligned with Executive Order 33.
Agenda-preparation wording: Doctor Pohl introduced an update to policy BDDC on agenda preparation and dissemination that replaces the word "inclusion" with "consideration" on future agenda items. Board member Colonel Paulson said the change could narrow how members’ requests reach an agenda and asked who decides whether a suggested item is "considered" or placed on an agenda. Several board members said they support coordinated agenda planning and consensus but warned the revised wording could be interpreted differently by different chairs.
BYOD and Executive Order 33: Pohl also reviewed updates to a BYOD policy (policy GAB?) intended to align the division with Executive Order 33, which restricts student use of personal devices during the school day. Under the proposed language the division would continue to allow personal devices before and after school but would prohibit BYOD during instructional hours consistent with the executive order; the policy also preserves rules about acceptable use while on division Wi‑Fi.
Board questions about enforcement and internet filtering: Board members asked how violations would be tracked and disciplined, where such incidents are logged, and whether teachers must bear administrative burdens to report violations. Pohl described the discipline-entry process: teachers report to administration, the school office records incidents in the student information system (Synergy), and administrators apply discipline. Several board members said the process places workload on teachers or requires more streamlined tools (for example, a single sign-in or swipe or an easier way for teachers to record warnings). The administration agreed to follow up with the chief of schools and IT to examine more streamlined options.
Filtering and classroom access to web resources: Board members also asked about the division’s web filtering and the process to whitelist educational sites. Jesse Zamore, senior director of IT, explained the division uses a commercial filtering system (Lightspeed) and a help-desk workflow. He said teachers or schools can submit requests to whitelist sites; the help desk and central IT manage changes and, in many cases, can make a site available the same day. Zamore said the division had passed a state cybersecurity audit and that the IT team monitors and updates filters continuously.
No vote was taken; Pohl said the updates will be on the business meeting agenda for formal action. Board members asked the administration to provide clearer enforcement guidance and to examine options that reduce teacher workload for logging violations.
