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Superintendent says district will draft policy to meet New York State "bell-to-bell" device requirement
Summary
Superintendent Gerard Poole told the Shoreham-Wading River board the district committee recommends students store devices in lockers during the school day to comply with a new New York State "bell-to-bell" mandate and expects a draft policy for board review ahead of a late‑July adoption target.
Superintendent Gerard Poole told the Shoreham‑Wading River Central School District Board of Education that New York State has passed a "bell‑to‑bell" requirement requiring student devices to be locked away during the instructional day and described the district's recommended response.
Poole said the district's policy committee, which included parents and administrators from all four buildings, reviewed the state guidance and generally recommended maintaining the district's current approach — having students place devices in lockers for the day — while updating the policy to satisfy the state requirement. "The state's requiring bell to bell," Poole said, describing the committee's conclusion that lockers provide the practical solution given the district's facilities.
Poole said the committee also discussed discipline protocols and recommended retaining the current escalating confiscation model rather than adding suspensions or detentions. "Our current discipline plan does not include suspensions or detentions — it escalates confiscation," he said, and added that principals reported that approach has worked during the current year.
The superintendent identified communication with families as a follow-up item, noting the district will clarify how parents should contact schools during the day if students cannot access their devices. He said the policy committee will draft a formal policy for the board's policy committee and aims to present a draft for board consideration with a goal to adopt by the end of July.
The board did not take a formal vote on the policy at the meeting; Poole described the action items as committee-level work and next steps for the board's policy committee to produce a draft.
What happens next: district staff will draft a bell‑to‑bell policy for review by the board's policy committee; the superintendent set a target to have a draft ready for the July board meeting and for the board to adopt a final policy by the end of July.
