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USD 497 board backs cell-phone limits for instructional time, approves JCAA on first reading
Summary
The USD 497 Board of Education advanced a districtwide shift to limit student cell‑phone use during instruction, approving policy JCAA on first reading Nov. 25 and directing staff to pilot guidance and report back with data and recommended edits before the Dec. 9 meeting.
The USD 497 Board of Education on Nov. 25 approved board policy JCAA (cell phones and electronic devices) on first reading and directed district staff to pilot new, developmentally differentiated guidance meant to keep phones from interrupting classroom instruction.
Superintendent Swift told the board the district would implement a "cell phone free instructional approach," with elementary students expected to have no phones out during the school day, middle schools using principal discretion (including a possible lunchtime allowance), and high schools restricting phones during instructional periods while permitting limited use during passing periods and lunch. "Not on, not seen, not heard, not interrupting instruction," Swift said as a shorthand for the district's approach.
Why it matters: Board members said the change seeks to protect instructional time and address social and emotional concerns linked to screen use. The district plans a short pilot and an intensive communications push to…
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