Verona Board holds first reading of smart‑device regulation; trustees, staff and students urge early digital‑safety education

The Verona Board of Education held a first reading of policy and regulation 5516 on Feb. 25, proposing new rules on student electronic communications and smart devices. Superintendent Diane DiGioppi explained the policy committee’s recommendation to allow student access to cell phones during lunch, study periods and passing time at the high school while pairing access with instruction on appropriate use.

DiGioppi framed the change as a teaching opportunity: “Since our kids going to college after 4 years of high school will have unfettered access to cell phones, we'd like to show a model for them and show them how they can use those responsibly,” she said. The superintendent and trustees discussed complementary steps — curriculum additions, parental supports and online resources — to address risky device behaviors including gambling and social‑media addiction.

Trustee Mister Waka asked the committee to consider explicit district responsibility for broader digital‑safety instruction and to quantify any associated costs. Board members discussed delivering instruction at elementary levels, embedding content into character education and counselor programming, and providing self‑paced parent resources if feasible.

A student speaker, Ryan, described the device problem from a peer perspective, saying some students spend very long hours on devices and that the district should start education earlier. "There are definitely people who have…overall the entire day, like 10 hours on the devices," Ryan said.

The policy and accompanying regulation were presented for first reading; trustees noted the district regulation differs in some respects from a high‑school practice adopted in September and said the administration will return with wording and fiscal implications for a future vote.