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Ithaca board directs superintendent to make student phones inaccessible during school day, orders stronger enforcement steps
Summary
After extended debate over lockers, Yondr pouches and enforcement, the board directed the superintendent to require student phones be made inaccessible during the school day and to strengthen disciplinary implementation (immediate removal when devices are used) with periodic status reports; the board emphasized an implementation plan, early‑term reporting and attention to equity and developmental differences.
Agenda item 2.2 opened with a member proposing a resolution to direct the superintendent to implement changes to the district’s personal electronic device approach for the 2026–27 school year. Board discussion lasted through a lengthy exchange of proposals, teacher reports and implementation options.
Members described multiple implementation choices: Velcro pouches (purchased last year), locked pouches such as Yondr, digital lockers that record access, or building‑level locker programs. One member argued that secured lockers reduce the need for teachers to police devices and pointed to digital locker systems that log access; another member cautioned that students can circumvent pouches and that any policy’s fairness, data tracking and enforcement must be considered, especially for students with disabilities or from historically marginalized groups.
Several board members recited teacher testimony and district survey results showing mixed classroom outcomes; some teachers said enforcement sharply improved instruction, while others reported little overall change. Members repeatedly returned to two central issues: implementation fidelity (who enforces, how administrators support teachers) and data/reporting (what will be measured and how frequently the board will receive information).
After debate, a board member moved to direct the superintendent to revise district practice so that student phones are inaccessible during the school day and to revise the disciplinary approach to require removal of phones when they are used, with reporting back to the board during the early weeks of implementation. The motion was seconded; members discussed timing, equity considerations and exceptions for students with documented needs. The chair called the question; the motion passed (voice vote, with abstention noted).
The board did not adopt a specific vendor or lock model at the meeting; instead, it tasked the superintendent to return with an implementation plan that defines “inaccessible” in practice, lists options (Yondr, digital lockers, locked collection points), estimates costs and shows how the district will track outcomes and equity impacts in the first weeks of school.
