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Russell USD 407 board adopts stricter student cell‑phone and social‑media rules, limits district Facebook pages
Summary
The Russell USD 407 board approved updated policies that restrict two‑way staff–student social media contact, encourage students to leave phones at home or power them off at school, and consolidate district Facebook pages to three official accounts to improve oversight.
The Russell USD 407 board on Thursday adopted updated student cell‑phone and social‑media policies that bar two‑way social media communication between staff and students and narrow official district Facebook presence to three main pages.
Staff recommended the changes at the second reading of board policy updates. “Ultimately, we're gonna encourage kids to leave them at home or in their vehicles if they have that opportunity,” the staff member said while outlining the phone rules. Under the new policy, students who bring phones into school must power them off; high‑school phones will be stored in locked lockers, and elementary schools will keep phones out of regular classroom use where feasible.
On social media, staff recommended limiting district pages “to the three main ones” — the district page and the main pages for Russell Junior‑Senior High and Gifford Dyke Elementary — and deactivating other ad hoc pages to reduce two‑way messaging and oversight gaps. “Facebook is tied to Apogee … and I also recommend that all other Facebook pages be deactivated or deleted,” the staff member said, adding that BAND (a team‑messaging app) may be used only for one‑way communication from coaches or sponsors.
Board members voted to approve the policy updates on voice vote at the meeting. Staff said they will begin notifying families and coaching staff on implementation over the coming week, with targeted alerts for parents explaining the policy and its consequences.
The policy change follows related operational items discussed at the meeting, including procurement and facility maintenance needs; the board also approved several routine items on the consent agenda before taking up the policy updates.
Implementation details such as appeal procedures for discipline or specifics for exceptions were not specified during the discussion; staff said they will bring further guidance as needed.
