Bastrop ISD reviews cellphone rules for students and proposes school library advisory committee

The Bastrop Independent School District Board of Trustees heard information about proposed revisions to the district’s communication-device policy and a recommendation to establish a School Library Advisory Committee (SLAC) to advise librarians and the director of digital learning.

Dr. Kristy Lee and district staff told trustees that a policy draft under review would allow elementary students to possess mobile phones but keep them stored in backpacks, consistent with current practice in many schools. Dr. Lee said the district wants to consider “allowing elementary students to have them, but to store them in their backpacks,” and staff will return with a revised policy for the August board meeting.

A key open point for trustees: whether the instructional day includes passing periods and lunch. If the instructional day includes those intervals, the policy as written would prohibit device use during passing periods or lunch except for students with an IEP or 504 plan or district-issued devices; the district plans to seek legal clarification on that interpretation before bringing a final policy forward.

School library advisory committee Trustees reviewed a proposal to form a school library advisory committee (SLAC). The board was told the committee would meet a few times a year to advise the director of digital learning and library services and librarians on collection development. The trustees were told each trustee will be asked to appoint a parent of a currently enrolled student; the committee would include at least seven members and may include teachers, counselors and administrators. Board members may attend SLAC meetings but would not serve as appointed members in order to avoid conflicts when the board later approves SLAC recommendations.

New campus funding question A staff member told the board that the district applies for the new instructional facility allotment (NIFA) funding for every new campus. The staff member said the district plans to apply for Adelton by an August 15 deadline and described potential funding as “up to a thousand dollars per kid” in the initial years to offset start-up costs; the board did not provide an exact district-wide dollar total at the meeting.

Why this matters: communication-device rules affect day-to-day safety and supervision; SLAC would provide a regular parent-and-staff advisory channel for library collection decisions; new campus funding affects startup budgets for opening schools.

Next steps: trustees were urged to submit feedback to Dr. Lee before the August meeting so the district can present a revised device policy and a proposed SLAC appointment process.