Chester County board keeps TSBA 'B' device policy after debate over collection and enforcement

The Chester County Board of Education voted 4–2 to adopt Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA) policy 6.312 option B for personal electronic devices, keeping a split approach between elementary and secondary grades.

Board members discussed two TSBA options after the legislature’s public chapter 103 narrowed local authority to limit devices only during instructional time. Under the policy the board approved, students in kindergarten through fifth grade must have personal wireless communication devices turned off and stored throughout the school day; students in grades 6–12 must have devices turned off during instructional time but may possess and use them during approved breaks, with exceptions for medical needs, IEP/504 accommodations or teacher‑authorized uses.

Supporters of option B argued it is more practical to enforce at the high-school and junior‑high levels and preserves supervised non‑instructional time for limited device use. An administrator who implemented a full-collection system in another district described lower costs alternatives (clear tubs, labeled bags, staffed collection at arrival) and said the process initially took roughly 15 minutes in the morning and about 10 minutes in the afternoon after staff and students adapted.

Opponents urged a stricter, uniform K–12 rule to reduce bullying, cheating and inappropriate video sharing. One board member framed a stricter approach as simpler to enforce: “Turn the phone off when you walk in the door and you turn it back on when you walk out,” the member said. Other board members and administrators raised practical concerns for athletes and students who leave early for work or medical appointments and noted the public chapter requires districts to provide an emergency communications method to families if devices are restricted.

Before the final vote the board considered, and rejected, a motion to require that devices be kept on students’ persons but turned off during the school day. After clarifying language and exceptions, the adopted B option preserves school‑level discretion to adopt stricter rules but sets the district baseline as the TSBA-provided B language.

The board directed staff to draft implementing language, including communications for parents and procedures for exceptions and enforcement, and signaled training and buy‑in from faculty will be needed for consistent application. The motion to adopt option B was made and seconded and carried by a 4–2 vote.

The policy change follows statewide statutory updates; the board will publish the finalized policy and the district’s emergency-communication procedures before the new school year.