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Board approves revised policy limiting phone use during school day, administration to finalize regulation
Summary
Trustees approved revised policies including a bell-to-bell restriction on device use; discussion centered on opening language, IEP/504 exceptions and moving stronger phrasing into the administrative regulation effective July 1, 2026.
The Madison Board of Education voted to waive the second reading and approve two policy updates, including Policy 5090.9 governing students27 use of privately owned technological devices.
During discussion, trustees debated whether the policy should open with a declarative statement such as "Madison Public Schools is a phone-free district." One board member argued for a clear, user-friendly lead: "Madison Public Schools is a phone free district," while others, including legal counsel and the administration, cautioned that policy and regulation serve different functions and that operational details belong in the administrative regulation.
Superintendent Dr. Craig Cook and members of the administration said the regulation will outline exceptions (for IEP/504 accommodations, instructional use and authorized teacher activities) and enforcement procedures; the administrative text noted an effective date passage for certain language. One trustee highlighted that the district already purchased equipment to support instruction under the new approach and cited an initial spend of about $19,000 for cameras and music-recording equipment to accommodate instruction without phones.
A portion of the updated device language included an explicit effective date: "effective July 1, 2026, students may continue to possess privately owned technological devices, but the devices must be off and stored for the duration of the academic day, bell to bell, in accordance with the rules and procedures set forth in the administrative regulation associated with this policy," which an administrator read into the record.
Trustees asked administration to strengthen the opening of the regulation for clarity to families while leaving the more technical legal language in the policy consistent with the district27s policy style. The board approved the policies by voice vote; the policy was passed while the regulation will be refined by the superintendent and brought back for the board27s review as information.
The board recorded no roll-call tallies in the public transcript; the chair announced the motion carried.
Administrators said communications to families would follow this summer to explain the bell-to-bell expectation, building-level variations and exceptions for accommodations and teacher-authorized uses.
