District official outlines phone-management app to lock student devices on campus

A district official described plans to expand student-device management beyond voluntary pouches, explaining the district has evaluated a phone-management app (referred to in the record as "TR") that places a geo-dome around school campuses and, when active, locks certain phone functions while students are on campus.

The official said the app would prevent use of features such as cameras and internet access while preserving parents' ability to see their child's GPS location and to contact them. "Once the app is on the phone, there's a geo dome ... and when school starts... the phone is locked down so that there's no camera, there's no internet," the official said. The official added that parents can still communicate with their child through the app and that the district can open specific websites deemed educational.

Board members described previous use of lockable pouches with mixed results: some schools such as Endeavor reportedly enforced pouch use successfully, while others had more difficulty. The official framed the app as a tool to reduce social-media distraction while allowing parental oversight and said the district hopes the community will adopt the app on student devices.

The board did not in the audio record provide a vendor contract number, specific procurement timeline, cost information, a formal privacy-impact assessment or a plan for parental consent and enrollment; those details were not specified in the transcript provided. The official repeatedly described the approach as a partnership with a vendor (named in the audio as "TR") and emphasized its potential to balance classroom focus with parent access.

What happens next: The transcript records explanation and endorsement of the tool by district leadership but does not include a formal vote, policy adoption, or an explicit timeline; implementation details (cost, consent process, data-handling specifics) were not provided in the excerpt.