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MMSD hears calls for tighter phone rules as student researchers and board debate tiered ban
Summary
Parents and teachers urged Madison Metropolitan School District to adopt a strict “away all day” phone policy; student researchers presented data on device bans and racial disparities in discipline, and board members weighed a draft tiered policy that would ban on-body devices K–8 and restrict classroom use at high schools.
Madison Metropolitan School District officials heard sustained public comment and a student research presentation on May 4 as the board took a first read of a district wireless-device policy required under Wisconsin Act 42.
Parents and teachers in online public comment urged a strong, easy-to-enforce ban. "We cannot expect high schoolers to police their own use of these devices that are designed to steal their attention," Amy Martino, an MMSD parent, told the Instruction Work Group, urging "away all day" storage for students and removal of broad teacher‑discretion exceptions. Several other parents recounted classroom and safety incidents and said current proposals were toothless because enforcement was left to teachers.
A team of students from the La Follette School of Public Affairs presented a semester-long capstone summarizing…
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