Albany school board adopts student phone and conduct policies; computer-use rule sent back for revision

The Albany City School District Board of Education voted to adopt an updated code of conduct and a student personal electronic device policy and sent its proposed computer network and internet acceptable-use policy back to staff for revision.

Board Vice President Tabitha Wilson opened the meeting and led the board through routine business before the policy discussion. Superintendent Hockrider announced a new hire in secondary humanities, Freya Mercer, who will begin transition work in August.

The board reviewed three policy items: 45-26 (computer network and internet acceptable use), 5,300 (code of conduct) and 56-95 (students and personal electronic devices). After discussion, the board approved 5,300 and 56-95 and decided not to adopt 45-26 as written so staff can return a revised version at a future meeting.

Board members who spoke during the discussion sought clearer language about student access to district wireless networks outside instructional hours, how any BYOD (bring-your-own-device)…