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Board adopts new personal electronic-device policy after debate on enforcement, 7–0
Summary
Trustees approved second and final reading of policy JICJ, prohibiting personal electronic devices during the school day; administrators said infractions will be documented in PowerSchool and consequences escalated by administrators.
Lexington County School District Two trustees on Nov. 21 approved the second and final reading of policy JICJ, which prohibits the use of personal electronic devices during the school day. The policy replaces an earlier administrative rule and passed unanimously, 7–0.
Several trustees praised the policy's potential mental-health and instructional benefits. Trustee 18 raised detailed enforcement concerns and questioned how repeated minor violations across several classes would be tracked so that escalating consequences would be fair. "I pull it out as I'm walking out of my class thinking, hey, quick. I need to quickly see if I got a Snapchat," the trustee said, describing how multiple teachers issuing a 'warning' could cumulatively trigger a disciplinary escalation on day one.
Administration described the handling process: teachers submit referrals to administrators, who document offenses in PowerSchool and manage escalations consistent with the policy. "Those offenses are documented in PowerSchool," an administrator said, adding that schools use referrals, Google forms or district systems to ensure administrators can see prior incidents when assigning consequences.
The board chair noted that adoption of JICJ will delete the prior administrative rule and that the policy includes the state-model language adopted by the district. Trustees voted 7–0 to adopt JICJ on second reading.
