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Board reviews cell‑phone survey; keeps current grade‑based rules but asks for simplified enforcement
Summary
A district survey of more than 8,000 respondents found mixed views on device rules. Board members asked staff to simplify consequences and improve education for students and families; elementary phone use remains largely restricted while middle and high school uses for teacher‑directed instruction, lunch and transitions were maintained.
The Sarasota County School Board reviewed results of a district cell‑phone survey Feb. 4 and directed staff to simplify enforcement and strengthen educational outreach, while largely keeping the current grade‑band rules in place.
The district collected roughly 8,000 responses over two weeks from students (grades 6–12), parents, teachers, administrators and community members. Survey takers were asked whether the district policy was about right, too strict or too loose and to select preferred consequence options for violations.
Overall, the majority of respondents across stakeholder groups felt the district’s current grade‑band approach was appropriate: elementary students should not have phones during the school day except for medical or emergency reasons; middle‑school devices should be silenced and stowed except for teacher‑approved instructional use; and high‑school students may have phones silenced and put away, with allowance for lunch and transitions and teacher‑directed instructional use.
However the survey also showed clear tensions: students wanted more leniency, while many parents and staff favored stricter limits. Multiple commenters asked for simpler, consistent consequences, and many said they did not want lengthy escalation processes (suspension or teen‑court referrals) for typical first‑time infractions.
Board members discussed enforcement burden on teachers and the instructional tradeoffs. Several trustees said enforcement must not become a classroom management burden; others urged stronger consequences to change behavior and reduce online bullying. Several called for expanded parent education and district‑level instruction about safe social‑media use.
The board asked staff to return with revisions to the student code of conduct that simplify consequences—confiscation for the day and parent contact were discussed as options—and to propose more robust student and family education on social media risks and device safety. Superintendent Connor said staff will fold any code updates into the annual student‑conduct revision process.
Ending: The board stopped short of a campus‑wide, bell‑to‑bell ban but asked the district to simplify enforcement, escalate repeat violations more quickly, and expand education programs for students and parents.
