Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Policies topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Student and parent comments split over proposed bell-to-bell phone policy at Selah board meeting
Summary
A student speaker and a parent email offered opposing views on a proposed 'bell-to-bell' phone ban; the board held a first reading of procedure 3245 and will take public input before voting at the June business meeting.
At a May meeting of the Selah School District Board of Directors, students and parents presented opposing views about a proposed 'bell-to-bell' student phone procedure (Procedure 3245) that the board read as a first reading and plans to vote on at the June business meeting.
Julia Wagner, an ASB representative at Selah High School, addressed the board in person and said a strict ban would be “unreasonable and unnecessary for a multitude of reasons,” arguing phones help students focus (for example, with background music, reminders and accessibility aids) and that the district should emphasize consequences for misuse rather than an outright ban.
An emailed comment read into the record from parent Joel Delude urged the board to adopt a bell-to-bell policy, citing teacher support and research he said links phone use to anxiety, social-media harms and distracted learning. Delude suggested confiscated phones be released only to parents and said parents can rely on district channels such as ParentSquare during emergencies.
Board President Peters acknowledged the public comments and noted the district is conducting a first reading of the procedure; the board will accept continued input before a final vote at the end of June. No formal policy change was approved at the meeting.
