Jenkintown SD will send parent and staff surveys on personal device policy; smartwatches flagged for potential restriction

The Jenkintown School District announced that a community survey on a proposed personal device policy will go to parents and staff this week, with administrators and student leaders to be engaged before any policy decision.

A parent, Regina Muldoon, asked whether smartphones would be part of the survey and whether students would receive it. Muldoon said she wanted to ensure questions are research‑based and that students, parents and faculty have input. “So my first question is, will the issue about smartphones be included in the survey?” she asked.

A district staff member involved in the rollout said there will be a parent/guardian survey and a staff survey coming out this week, and that middle‑ and high‑school staff had already met with presenter Dino. The administrator said the elementary school context differs because phones are already banned in K–6 and the discussion about smartwatches is ongoing: “And from the smartwatch perspective in question, that is a conversation that Chris is having… he added to our conversation about banning those as well for distraction purposes.”

Officials described the planned process: collect parent and staff responses, share parent data with staff, bring student council leadership into the discussion before the end of the school year, and use open‑ended survey items to capture qualitative feedback in addition to quick‑click questions. The district emphasized they will analyze results before determining whether to establish a board policy or an administrative guideline.

Timeline and next steps: The district expects to distribute the parent and staff surveys within the week and to convene student leaders and staff to consider the results prior to a recommendation. Agenda item 9.1 on the personal device policy was officially skipped at this meeting; the board said further discussion will follow after survey results are compiled.