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Barnes County North board approves handbook edits, including new phone procedure after debate
Summary
The Barnes County North School Board approved several handbook changes Aug. 21, including a revised cell-phone procedure that leaves classroom phone management to teachers, shortens detention-scheduling windows and clarifies schedule-drop timelines after robust debate and a roll-call vote.
The Barnes County North School Board approved revisions to the student handbook at its Aug. 21 meeting, adopting a new cell-phone procedure that gives classroom teachers discretion over whether students may carry or use phones during class, shortens detention-scheduling windows for disciplinary detentions, and sets a clearer three-day schedule-drop deadline for course changes.
Board discussion focused on the cell-phone provision, with some members urging a full ban to reduce distractions and prevent parents from spreading emergency information before school officials could verify incidents, while others argued that placing discretion with classroom teachers respects professional judgment and helps students learn to manage devices. One board member said in debate that past incidents showed community messages reached the public before emergency responders, a rationale cited for limiting student phone access in emergency scenarios.
After discussion, a motion was made to table the handbook changes; that motion was seconded. The board ultimately voted on the revised handbook language and the chair announced the motion passed (the chair’s announcement referenced both "7 to 2" and "5 to 2" during the exchange). The board directed administration to report incident counts and teacher feedback to the board and to revisit the policy if needed during the school year.
Administrators emphasized the revisions are procedural rather than formal board policy, enabling changes to be made during the school year if problems arise. The board also asked that principals include incident tallies and staff input in the principal report so the board can monitor how the procedure works in practice.
The handbook updates also included clarified graduation requirements, revised senior privileges tied to academic eligibility, and updated transportation expectations for VoTech students. The board approved the handbook for the school year with the changes adopted at the meeting.
The handbook vote followed standard board procedure; the action was recorded during the meeting’s roll call.
