Superintendent: state law requires 'bell‑to‑bell' phone limits; Muskogee schools to enforce progressive discipline

Superintendent Dr. Mendenhall told the Muskogee Public Schools Board on Aug. 12 that a state law requires students not to have cell phones visible or in use "bell to bell" — from the first bell to the last bell of the school day — and that the district will enforce the rule.

Dr. Mendenhall said the district’s planned discipline sequence is: a first offense will result in staff taking the phone and returning it at the end of the day; a second offense will require a parent or guardian to come to school to retrieve the device; subsequent offenses may result in increasingly serious discipline as spelled out in the student handbook. She said the district does not intend to suspend students solely for having a cell phone out and that staff should be consistent in enforcement.

Dr. Mendenhall also noted that district‑issued Chromebooks remain connected and can be used for instructional communication, and staff will meet with student groups in the first five days of school to review the handbook provisions. The district said the phone rule would also cover passing periods and lunch and that bus usage is a separate consideration: phones on buses are treated differently, and the district clarified that the bell‑to‑bell restriction applies to the school day on campus.

The board did not adopt a new policy text during the recorded portion of the meeting; staff pointed to the student handbook posted online and said the district will bring related items to the next board agenda for further discussion.