Board discusses options after state law requiring limits on student phone use during instructional time
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Summary
Trustees discussed a new state requirement that will require school districts to adopt wireless-device policies prohibiting student device use during instructional time beginning in the 2026–27 school year; members weighed exemptions, enforcement, and equipment options such as Yondr pouches and Faraday bags.
A board member summarized a legal update and led a discussion about drafting a district policy to comply with a state law that requires school boards to adopt a wireless communications device policy that prohibits students from using such devices during instructional time starting in the 2026–27 school year.
Trustees flagged core questions: how to define "instructional time" (pupil-accounting definitions exclude recess, lunch and hallway passing), which exemptions to allow (medically necessary devices, district-owned instructional devices, devices required by IEPs or 504 accommodations, emergency situations and teacher-directed lesson use), and what enforcement mechanisms are practical in classrooms. The board discussed equipment and implementation trade-offs: Yondr pouches (lockable storage pouches used in some districts), Faraday bags that block signals, teacher-managed locking procedures and the costs and practicality of each. One trustee reported peers had found Yondr pouches expensive and technologically exploitable by students; another trustee said some districts used sealed Faraday bags, which posed classroom-management concerns.
Members proposed staff-led listening sessions with teachers, principals and families and suggested coordinating with union leaders and principals to develop a draft definition of instructional time and recommended implementation steps. Trustees said the goal would be to have a decision prior to the next school year so families and staff have advance notice of any changes.
