Lakeville school board holds second reading of cell-phone policy; middle schools favor locker storage, high schools favor in-class limits

Lakeville Area Schools reviewed a second reading of a proposed student cell-phone policy on Jan. 28, 2025, with staff describing different approaches by level: the draft would bar phones during instructional time K-12, but middle schools want devices kept in lockers while high schools would permit limited phone use during passing time and lunch.

Brenda Albrecht, executive director of Administrative Services, told the board that recent state legislation requires districts to adopt a policy on students' possession and use of cell phones in schools by March 15, 2025; the provision, effective May 18, 2024, also asks state principal associations to provide best-practice guidance. Principal Kim Booty of Lakeville North High School described a high-school approach that focuses on "bell-to-bell" instruction: "From bell to bell during class, phones should be put away because we want them to truly focus in on instruction," Booty said, while acknowledging students need phone access at times for…