Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Device Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board reviews draft statewide cellphone restrictions; district to refine implementation plan
Summary
Superintendent and board reviewed a draft policy implementing the state-mandated bell-to-bell restrictions on smartphones and internet-connected devices; the board will consider the policy in July and finalize regulations before the school year.
Board members and the superintendent reviewed a draft policy to implement statewide restrictions on smartphones and other internet‑connected devices during the regular school day. The draft, prepared by Erie 1 BOCES policy services, was presented for review on June 10 with no immediate vote.
Superintendent Carl Monothe described the state law as providing a range of options for districts and said the district’s draft will be “fine‑tuned” before the board considers it in July; administrative regulations and an implementation plan are expected before the September start of classes. Monothe said the district has conducted public forums and a thought-exchange process and will use that feedback to shape the final rules.
Board members raised operational questions that the draft must address: whether Bluetooth headphones and non‑internet devices are included, how coaches will communicate schedule changes to athletes and families, and how the district could standardize coach-to-family communications. The board discussed limiting the policy’s scope to internet‑connected devices while excluding ordinary headphones used for in-classwork, and staff said they will clarify those distinctions in regulations.
Members said implementation quality will be decisive. “Policy is very reasonable as written, but it’s what actually do is the issue,” one board member said. The district plans targeted outreach to students, coaches, families and staff and to provide a clearer set of tools for coach‑family communications (for example, approved group-messaging platforms) before the policy’s implementation.
