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Policy committee revises student-device policy to include 'smart' and wearable devices; BYOD tabled for technical review
Summary
Committee approved a revision to policy 5131.81 using model language from 5090.9 that broadens device definitions to 'smart devices' and 'wearable technology' and tasked tech staff with drafting regulations; the separate BYOD policy (6141.328) was tabled for further technical work.
Committee members pursued a substantive update to student-device policy language and debated how best to address rapidly changing personal technology.
Mary raised concerns about recording-enabled eyewear and new wearable devices, noting these can look like reading glasses yet record audio or video. She said such items “can start recording at any time.” Jeff Telki, identified in the transcript as the district’s director of technology, urged broader, future-proof language: “we don't know to be honest what the next new craze is going to be... I would love to see things like more general terms like wearable technology or 'smart technology.'”
The committee agreed to revise policy 5131.81 by adopting model language from sample policy 5090.9 and inserting a definition for privately owned technology devices that uses broader terms ("smart devices," "wearable technology," "tablets" with examples such as Kindles or e‑readers). The revised paragraph presented in committee defines privately owned devices as wireless, portable, or handheld equipment that may be used for processing, internet access, image or audio capture, storage, transmission or reception, and provides non-exhaustive examples.
Separately, the committee discussed technical enforcement challenges: students sometimes connect to external cellular networks that bypass district filtering, and the BYOD guest network has performance limitations that can make classroom use impractical. Telki said that connecting to the district BYOD network can be slow and that unfiltered, external connections undermine content protections. For that reason the committee voted to table policy 6141.328 (the BYOD policy) and asked the technology team to draft accompanying regulations and technical solutions before returning the item to committee.
Next steps: revised 5131.81 language will move to the full board; the tech team will prepare regulations and options for handling cellular/external network access and filtering before BYOD returns for committee consideration.
