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District staff outline constraints and questions on governor's proposed student cellphone ban
Summary
Staff told the board that the governor's executive order on banning student cellphone use during the school day will require district policies by Oct. 31; staff noted backpacks may be allowed for storage, medical-device exceptions will be needed, and details for sports trips and wearables remain unsettled.
Gina updated the board on guidance she had seen related to the governor's forthcoming executive order that would ban student cellphone use during the school day. Gina said district leaders have until Oct. 31 to adopt policies and that, based on the guidance she read, students could keep devices in backpacks but would not be allowed to use them during the school day.
Gina flagged practical questions raised in the guidance: exceptions for students with IEPs or medical needs (for example, glucose monitors that send data to phones), the treatment of wearable devices such as smartwatches, and how supervisors should handle devices on sports trips (the guidance suggested coaches, not bus drivers, would manage device use on trips). Gina said she preferred to wait for clearer model language from the state before drafting district policy.
Board members noted parental concerns about restricting access to phones in emergencies and discussed logistics of enforcement; staff said they will wait for the state's suggested language and revisit the issue in upcoming meetings.
