Board hears proposal to add two asynchronous student days and reviews new state law restricting student use of wireless devices

District staff recommended a calendar amendment to add two asynchronous student learning days and briefed the board on a forthcoming student wireless‑device policy required by recent state legislation.

Jamie Wilson presented a proposed amendment to the 2025–26 school calendar to add two asynchronous learning days on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, and Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Wilson said the Sept. date falls about six weeks into the school year, allowing early diagnostic assessment and teacher planning time; Feb. 6 is positioned at the midpoint of the spring semester after winter assessments and before state testing windows. She described the days as mutually beneficial: students would complete teacher‑assigned asynchronous work, while staff would use the time for professional development, data analysis and collaborative planning. Wilson asked the board to consider the amendment for approval at a later meeting.

Wilson also briefed the board on the wireless communication device policy required by Senate Bill 92 (the transcript referenced it as the Focus Act). The law requires school boards to adopt an internet‑safety policy that restricts student access to the internet on district devices and “prohibits the use in operation and possession of wireless communication devices on public properties” during the instructional day unless legally authorized exceptions apply. Under the draft language presented, students must keep devices turned off and stored away from their person (locker, vehicle or other secure storage) for the duration of the instructional day. The policy will include exceptions for individualized health plans, IEPs or 504 plans; staff‑supervised instructional use; and emergency situations that threaten life or safety.

Wilson said the district already requires phones be off and that K–5 classrooms use cubbies; the open question for secondary schools is whether teacher‑issued pouches that remain with students constitute “off the person.” The State Department is expected to issue clarifying guidance; the district will return with a policy consistent with state direction and add the rule to the student code of conduct.

What’s next: the board will consider the calendar amendment and a final wireless communication device policy at a subsequent meeting after the district receives state clarifications about what constitutes “off the person” for secondary student pouches.