Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Policy Technology topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board debates 'bell-to-bell' device policy, principal-level exceptions and classroom headphone needs
Summary
Board members discussed a draft 'bell-to-bell' policy banning visible use of phones, smartwatches and earbuds during school hours K–12, with principals able to authorize essential exceptions; directors requested admin regs to address classroom headphone use, medical accommodations and media/arts classes.
The Elizabethtown Area School District board on Tuesday took up a first reading of a proposed 'bell-to-bell' electronic-device policy that would require students K–12 to keep phones, smartwatches and earbuds out of sight and secured for the full school day, with building principals authorized to grant essential-use exceptions.
Policy sponsors said the rule aims to reduce classroom distraction, cyberbullying and off-task behavior. The draft prohibits devices from being seen or heard in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, gyms and restrooms during the school day; it lists disciplinary measures for violations and empowers principals to allow devices when essential (medical monitoring, IEP/504 accommodations or other approved needs).
Directors and administrators spent substantial time on edge cases. Board members asked how the policy would affect classrooms that use headphones for instruction (media, yearbook, art and tech labs) and whether the district should provide wired headphones for classrooms that lack inventory. Administrators said some classrooms already have school-owned headphones, that principals would preapprove course-level exceptions (for example, media classes), and that Derry Township’s language on accommodations was used as a model for medical/IEP processes. Health services staff advised there are approximately 20–25 students districtwide with documented medical needs requiring personal monitoring devices.
Smartwatches prompted debate: some directors favored a strong prohibition (out of sight) to avoid continual checking and distraction; others wanted clear exception language for medical reasons and IEPs. Several board members said training and migration to Keystone Agenda (PSBA) would help implement policy administration and tracking.
No final policy vote occurred at the workshop; the item remains at first reading and board members asked administration to return with proposed administrative regulations addressing headphone inventory, teacher/teacher-level discretion versus principal-level exceptions, and how accommodations for IEP/504 students and medical plans will be handled.
