CUSD superintendent outlines school-year changes: digital hall passes, unified start times, anti-bullying lessons
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Summary
Superintendent Frank Narducci told the Chandler Unified School District board on June 11 that the district will introduce a digital hall pass and unified start/end times, add lessons on kindness and bullying prevention, align cell-phone rules with new state law and roll out a refreshed district website before the 2025–26 school year.
Superintendent Frank Narducci told the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board on June 11 that the district is preparing several operational and curriculum changes for the 2025–26 school year, including a districtwide digital hall pass, unified school start and end times for elementary schools and closer alignment of junior high schedules, and a new set of lessons on kindness and bullying prevention.
The announcement came during the board's regular meeting as Narducci played a video message for families and board members. He framed the initiatives as continuity with recent academic gains: “This recognition reflects our commitment to a tradition of academic excellence, dedicated educators, and a supportive community,” he said, referring to the district’s recent ranking as Arizona’s top public school district.
Narducci said the digital hall pass will be available through the district’s Infinite Campus parent portal and is intended to let parents and guardians see where students are while on campus. The parent portal will also gain a feature to allow families to report student absences electronically. Narducci said those tools aim to support the district’s emphasis on attendance, which he described as “vital to student success.”
On classroom conduct, Narducci said Chandler Unified’s existing responsible-technology policy will be applied in a way that aligns with a recently enacted state law on student cell-phone use. He said the district’s classroom practice will be guided by teacher expectations and limited to academic purposes.
The superintendent said the district has adjusted daily schedules so elementary start and end times are unified across schools and junior high start and end times will be “more closely aligned with each other,” a change the district says will help transportation logistics. He reminded families that bus riders must register for transportation each year through Infinite Campus.
Narducci also previewed a redesigned district website, cusd80.com, aimed at simplifying navigation for families, and highlighted recent athletic recognition for Chandler schools. He noted Perry High School graduate Jalen Williams, now an NBA player with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and said Perry athletics and CUSD athletes received awards from AZCentral.
Board members did not take any formal votes during the superintendent’s report. The district did not provide exact implementation dates for the digital hall pass or the parent-portal absence feature beyond saying the tools will be available ahead of the 2025–26 school year. Narducci said schools remain on summer break until July 16.
The board’s agenda moved on after the presentation to other items not covered in this report.
