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Board reviews revised cell-phone policy, debates enforcement and exemptions
Summary
Board and staff discussed a revised cell-phone and personal-device policy aimed at reducing classroom distraction, debated enforcement consistency across buildings, confirmed medical/IEP exemptions and discussed wearable devices; staff will return a final version for approval next Monday.
S1 presented a revised district cell-phone and personal-device policy, framing it as an effort to reduce classroom distractions and align enforcement at the building level. S1 said the committee has circulated drafts with principals and that first infractions at the secondary level would be handled by teachers, with repeated issues handled administratively.
Members raised enforcement concerns. S2 said supervision limits in lunchrooms and differences among buildings could lead to inconsistent application. S4 and others argued that referencing each building’s student handbook and the district’s student conduct code would make enforcement clearer and allow differentiated consequences by grade level and maturity.
S1 and S3 confirmed existing exemptions: students with IEPs or 504 plans for medical reasons (for example, monitoring insulin) would be accommodated. The group discussed wearable devices that can transmit without a paired phone; S7 (administrator) noted such cases may need to proceed through an IEP process.
The committee debated wording that would allow "additional consequences" to be applied at the building level versus explicitly pointing to the handbook; several members favored language that refers to the handbook or student conduct code to avoid arbitrary or inconsistent penalties.
S1 said the policy defines the school day start by the bell and clarified that devices may be used "before and after the start of the school day" as written. The policy draft will be revised to reference handbooks and student conduct code as appropriate and will return to the board next Monday for consideration and potential approval.
