District staff presented survey results on student cellphone use and current school practices, and the board discussed possible policy clarifications and enforcement options.

Staff said the survey included responses from parents, students and teachers across elementary, middle and high school levels and highlighted differences by grade. Presenter reported that about 450 elementary parents responded; 312 middle-school parents responded; and 149 high-school parents responded. Teacher responses showed roughly 35% agreed and 25% strongly agreed that current cellphone practices were working well (a combined 60%), with neutrals and dissenting views accounted for in the remainder.

The presenter summarized school-by-school patterns: elementary respondents overwhelmingly favored stricter limits (staff quoted figures showing a high percentage of elementary parents say students should not access cell phones during the day), middle school responses tended to be more polarized with a strong middle (neutral) cohort, and high-school responses were the most neutral overall. The presenter said elementary parents tended to back restrictions on buses as well, noting enforcement challenges on full elementary buses.

Board members raised enforcement questions and the tension between staff discretion and free-speech considerations for staff social-media conduct. One board member asked whether the district had set objective thresholds — for example, incitement of violence — that would clearly trigger discipline; staff and counsel said such determinations are often fact-specific and may ultimately be judged by courts, and that the policy language leaves room for case-by-case discretion.

Staff recommended drafting a proposed policy update for a first reading that would reflect current practices and the survey data; the presenter said the draft will be brought back for board consideration. No formal policy vote was taken on cellphone rules at this meeting.

The presenter advised parents buying phones for younger students consider devices without social-media apps for safety and monitoring purposes. The presenter also noted that model district rules referenced in the packet are dated (mentions of beepers and pagers) and that current practice is more contemporary.

District staff said they will prepare a draft policy reflecting survey findings and the board's feedback for review at a future meeting.