Amherst board outlines rollout of state-mandated “distraction-free” device policy after Aug. 1 adoption

The Amherst Central School District summarized plans to implement a state-mandated “distraction-free schools” policy—adopted Aug. 1—that prohibits unsanctioned use of internet-enabled personal devices on school grounds from bell to bell and sets procedures for exceptions, storage and progressive discipline.

District officials said the policy implements recent New York State guidance by banning unsanctioned use of smartphones, smartwatches and other internet-enabled personal devices during the instructional day (defined from the first bell to the last bell). The district formed a 25-member stakeholder committee that included parents, students, building administrators, teachers and pupil-personnel-services staff; it also ran a community feedback survey that received 82 responses, which staff said were roughly 70% supportive and 30% raising concerns tied mainly to individual cases.

On device storage, the district described different approaches by level: middle and high school students will be required to turn devices off and store them in lockers during the school day; elementary students must turn devices off and store them in backpacks placed in cubbies or lockers. The district said staff strongly recommend that elementary students keep devices at home when possible.

The plan allows six exceptions the law permits; staff said the district narrowed routine exception handling to three categories that require formal review: medical needs, translation needs and caregiver responsibilities. The district described a documented exception process: initial reviews by building principals with consultation from the medical director for health-related requests, ELL staff for translation requests and pupil-personnel staff for caregiver-related cases. Staff said additional documentation may be requested and that the district developed a form for families to request an exception through the main office.

Discipline is progressive and, according to the presentation, is designed to avoid suspending students solely for device use. Officials summarized the ladder they will use for middle and high school: first formal offense—device confiscated and returned to the student at the end of the day; second offense—confiscated and returned at end of day only upon parent/guardian request and a detention assigned; third offense—confiscated with two detentions; fourth offense—device returned only to parent/guardian and in-school suspension may be applied for insubordination. Elementary consequences are similar but include reflective activities for repeat offenses. Staff said any discipline applied for refusal to comply would be managed under the district code of conduct and would relate to insubordination, not solely to a device’s presence.

The district said it will publish an annual enforcement report with non-identifiable demographic data about any disciplinary actions taken under the policy, as required by state law, to monitor disparities in application. Officials also noted the district webpage contains the board policy, the full plan, an FAQ, the stakeholder timeline and a summary of community input; the site supports translation into the district’s 12 most commonly spoken languages upon request.

For implementation, staff described assemblies, classroom instruction, homebase and opening-day activities for students, plus staff development sessions for educators and administrators. High school rollout planning includes locker training and supervised practice with combo locks. Staff also said they are exploring secure messaging options for family–school communications, though no new messaging platform was adopted at the time of the presentation.

Ending: District leaders said families, staff and students will receive information about the policy before the school year starts and that building principals will follow up with building-specific implementation addenda and opening-week communications.