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Grandville district to ban phones in classrooms and provide numbered 'caddies,' administrators say
Summary
District administrators presented a revised electronic-device policy that would prohibit cell phones in classrooms, provide numbered caddies for student devices, and spell out exceptions and enforcement. The policy will be communicated to staff and families at August orientations.
The Grandville Public Schools administration described a new classroom electronic-device policy that would bar cell phones from classrooms and provide a numbered caddy system for students to store devices during class.
Adam, a district administrator, told the board the change eliminates the previous "out of sight" language and requires phones to be left in lockers or placed in district-provided caddies. "The biggest tweak ... is that phones are not allowed in the classroom," Adam said, adding that caddies will be distributed to staff and labeled so students can retrieve them at the end of class. He said smart watches and other wearable devices remain covered by the policy but will not be forcibly removed at this time.
Administrators said they will give staff an FAQ and enforcement guidance and will communicate the change to families at the first Monday in August orientation packet. Adam said the district consulted with the GEA union representatives and plans to present the policy text and research supporting the change in a letter to parents. "We have a nice letter that cites some of the research, the reason why we're doing this, cites the law, has the policy, and explains what the policy is and what we're doing," he said.
Board members asked about practical enforcement and whether staff would face additional burdens for managing the policy. Adam said the policy includes a clear discipline path for refusals, and that administration and security would handle incidents that rise to insubordination. The board did not take a formal vote on the policy at the meeting; administrators said they will finalize communications and bring implementation details back to the board as needed.
The article will be updated if the board takes formal action at a subsequent meeting.
