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) access would be limited to non-instructional times, and what exactly the regulation means when it says translation services "will be utilized when needed." One board member noted the regulation phrase "translation services will be utilized when needed" is currently written in passive language and urged staff to specify who will provide translations and how families will reach their children during the school day.

District staff said the revised 45-26 regulation removes references to student BYOD and guest Wi-Fi as currently drafted, replaces references to the technology coordinator with the director of technology, and updates language about unacceptable online content to explicitly include images and direct electronic communications such as texting. Board members asked staff to reinstate limited BYOD language to clarify access after the instructional day rather than remove it entirely.

Discussion of the student-device regulation also addressed implementation details the board viewed as unresolved: whether wireless earbuds and headphones should be listed, how exemptions will be handled (the draft regulation references nonlocking containers for exempted students), and how families who speak languages other than English will connect with students during the day. Board members and staff described a range of possible operational steps, from providing a dedicated office cell phone at each school to testing third-party products such as text-translation platforms or language lines. The district's technology lead, Mr. Lesko, was identified as leading a review of communication applications used across the district.

Several board members emphasized urgency. One said the district was about five weeks away from the first day of school and asked staff to return a revised policy and associated regulations with clear operational guidance so families know how to reach students when necessary.

On the motions: routine consent items were adopted without discussion earlier in the meeting. Later, after clarifying that 45-26 would return for revision, the board moved and seconded adoption of 5,300 and 56-95; the board recorded the votes as unanimous among members present. The record notes two board members were not in attendance for that vote.

Board members also thanked staff for work to make the code of conduct more accessible and written in plainer language. Superintendent Hockrider introduced Freya Mercer, the district's new instructional supervisor for secondary humanities, who will begin transition duties in August.

Next steps: staff were asked to revise the 45-26 policy and its regulation to (1) clarify whether and how BYOD access will be available to students outside instructional hours, (2) specify the process and responsible parties for translation services and two-way parent–school communication, and (3) review the list of devices and exemptions referenced in the student-device regulation. The revised policy and regulation are to be returned to the board for adoption at a future meeting.