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Board adopts 2025-26 student/parent handbook; board will review cellphone policy alignment
Summary
The Hartland-Lakeside J3 School District adopted its 2025-26 student/parent handbook (a Neola-based document); the board asked administrators to review apparent inconsistencies between handbook language and board policies 5136/5136.01 on cellphone possession and use.
The Hartland-Lakeside J3 School District board voted to adopt the 2025-26 student/parent handbook, a Neola-produced handbook customized with hyperlinks to district policies and a plan for quarterly review.
During public comment, Nils Peterson raised a discrepancy between handbook language that bans device "use" and board policy 5136/5136.01, which the commenter said reads as prohibiting "possession" bell-to-bell and explicitly lists smartphones, headphones and smartwatches. "So I wasn't sure if the board intended for 5136.01 to ban possession of all of those devices, or if the intent was the handbook policy, which is just use is not," Peterson said.
Administration told the board that the handbook had been aligned with Neola templates and that hyperlinks were being manually added so readers could jump from handbook language to the underlying policy. The superintendent said community feedback, like Peterson's, would be cataloged and addressed via committee review and that the handbook will return to committee as needed.
A motion to adopt the handbook with the committee review of the specific policies was moved and seconded; the board voted and the motion carried.
Administration said the handbook will be posted online and that parents will be prompted to acknowledge receipt during registration, which opens August 4 at 10 a.m.
