Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Forsyth County board signals unanimous support to draft bell‑to‑bell cell‑phone limits for K–8, study high‑school approach
Summary
After a year of surveys, focus groups and a town hall, district leaders told the board April 15 there is strong community support to restrict student cell‑phone use during the school day. The board gave unanimous consent to draft policy language and return in May for review and public comment.
The Forsyth County Board of Education on April 15 heard a presentation on district work to limit student cell‑phone use during the school day and gave unanimous direction to district staff to develop policy and procedures for board consideration.
Doctor Amy Bartlett, who led the presentation on the district’s "disconnect to reconnect" work, summarized nine months of stakeholder engagement including school council meetings, superintendent advisory groups, student focus groups and a public town hall. Bartlett said the district received more than 3,700 stakeholder survey responses and that the results show "there is strong support for restricting or limiting cell phone usage during the academic school day." She also noted the need to balance access for emergency contact and to educate parents and students about expectations.
Several board members urged a clear, enforceable approach and school‑to‑school consistency. Chairman Michael Valdez said K–8 implementation was "essentially decided for us" by recent state action and recommended moving toward bell‑to‑bell limits at those grades while seeking a more nuanced approach for high school. Valdez said a possible option for older students could be a privilege model tied to behavior or academic expectations. Other board members emphasized parent education, digital‑citizenship lessons and consistent enforcement by principals across schools.
Superintendent Bernard Young (identified in district remarks) and staff told the board their team will draft policy language and proposed procedures, return to the board in May and, if policy is changed, open the draft to a 30‑day public comment period. Staff also said they would host community outreach sessions during any comment period.
No formal board vote was required at the April 15 meeting. Board members said there was unanimous consent among members present to direct staff to develop policy and administrative procedures and bring them back for review.
The presentation referenced House Bill 982 (2024), a state legislative definition of high‑demand career areas; board members and staff cited the bill in broader discussion of classroom time but did not propose any legislative action in the meeting.
District leaders said the cell‑phone review is part of a wider focus on student social‑emotional health, screen‑time reduction and life‑skills instruction.
The board requested district staff prepare recommended policy language and an implementation plan for return to the board in May, including recommended enforcement, exception/waiver language and parent‑education materials.
