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Student board representatives urge clearer, more consistent enforcement of cell-phone policy
Summary
At a Selah School District board meeting, student board representatives described uneven classroom enforcement of the district's cell-phone policy, urged revisiting implementation and teacher practices, and raised safety and emergency-access concerns; the board encouraged continued discussion but took no immediate action.
Student board representatives told the Selah School District board that the district’s written cell-phone policy is poorly understood and unevenly enforced, and they urged clearer implementation and more student input.
"I think that responsibility should be put into the students' hands to advocate for their own learning," said student board representative Lauren Rice, arguing that policies should teach students to manage devices rather than simply remove responsibility. Claire Richards and Charlie Miller described inconsistent enforcement across classrooms and expressed concern that students and teachers treat the policy more like a suggestion than a rule.
Rice and others told the board that some teachers consistently enforce the rule while others do not, creating a perception that enforcement is discretionary. Miller said enforcement appears to depend on teacher tolerance and the rigor of the class. "I never read the policy before," Claire Richards said, and added that many students are unaware of the written policy because it is not routinely applied in classrooms.
Students also raised safety and privacy concerns. "If I didn't have my phone to contact my parents I don't know," one student said when discussing the role phones can play in emergencies, and other students said that being able to contact family is a primary reason they want access during the school day. Students described instances of recorded fights and social-media posts but said the school typically acts quickly to remove inappropriate content.
Board members asked clarifying questions about implementation and encouraged the students to broaden outreach to peers and teachers. Trustees said they did not intend to take immediate disciplinary or policy action, but they supported continued conversations with students, parents and staff to inform any future changes.
The student remarks were part of a broader district discussion about technology use in classrooms; the board closed the item with a request that students continue to gather peer and teacher feedback and bring it back for further consideration.
