Board to form task force to recommend high‑school cell‑phone policy, aims for January report

The school board agreed to form a task force to recommend a policy governing cell‑phone use at the high school, setting a target of producing a draft policy by January.

Board members discussed the task force’s composition, which the Education Policy Committee resolution proposes should include two administrators (to serve as chairs), one teacher, one support‑staff member, two board members, two parents and two high‑school students. An unidentified board member said, “We are talking about forming a task force to recommend a policy on cell phone use in the high school.” The group emphasized including student voices and local stakeholders.

Members said they expect administrators to advertise openings and solicit participants. One participant noted a recent newspaper account of a high‑school policy change in the Portland area and said the board can review those models; another urged the committee to consider whether policy or teaching technology literacy is the root issue. “It’s come quite obvious to many of us that we need a cell phone policy here at the high school,” an unidentified speaker said.

The board did not adopt a final policy at the meeting. Administrators were directed to recruit volunteers, advertise the process to parents and staff, and share details in the district newsletter. Board members said the task force should aim to return a recommended policy to the Education Policy Committee and then to the full board by January, though several members said they hoped the work could be completed sooner.

Next steps: administrators will solicit applications for the task force, the district newsletter will publish the call for volunteers, and the Education Policy Committee will oversee the task force’s work toward the January target date.