Policy committee agrees to send revised student electronic-device policy to full board for May 20 first read

The Policy Committee voted Wednesday to forward a revised student personal electronic device policy to the full school board for a first reading on May 20 after hours of discussion over what belongs in board policy and what should remain in school operating procedures.

The committee’s drafter said she initially failed to review the state law but then cited the statute, saying “section c 16 21 40 c” requires that “the policy and any standards and rules enforcing the policy shall be prescribed by the school” and argued the board must decide which standards to elevate to policy and which to leave to the superintendent’s SOPs. (Tara)

District staff and the committee generally agreed the document should separate board-level standards from day-to-day SOPs so the board adopts high-level expectations while central office and principals retain flexibility to implement procedures. A district representative said central office has already worked with principals, students and teachers on SOP drafts and described the packet as a “starter” to be refined.

Isaac moved that the committee pass the policy contingent on revision by Sarah Rappaport in collaboration with district staff and elevate the revised policy to the full board on May 20 for a first reading; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The motion set an expedited timeline to finalize edits and meet the packet/posting deadline for the board meeting. (Mover: Isaac; Second: Chair)

What the committee debated was largely procedural: whether the draft was too prescriptive for a policy and whether staff rules should be included. Tara noted the draft contained many provisions that read like SOPs — for example, progressive-discipline steps and elementary/secondary guardrails — and recommended extracting operational details into SOPs while keeping prohibitions and high-level expectations in board policy. District staff agreed, saying SOPs can be updated as implementation needs change without returning to the board.

The committee asked the drafter and district counsel to produce a Word version and redline by the next day so revisions can be posted in advance of the full board packet. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote or a numeric tally; the committee approved the motion by voice (ayes recorded; no nays recorded in the transcript).

Next steps: attorney Rappaport and the district team will complete the rewrite and cross-reference any visitation rules to a separate policy or SOP so the board can consider the trimmed policy for its first reading on May 20. The committee also agreed to work to have both the board-level policy and SOPs ready for implementation before the fall term.