Schools
District Considering Lifting Student Cellphone Ban
Proponents, including superintendent, cite various reasons
Cellphone use is banned in .
At least some district officials would like to see that changed.
School board members Yagnesh Choksi and Chester Marshall told their colleagues Wednesday that the instructional affairs committee recently heard a presentation from 9th Grade Assistant Principal Steve Louella and came away believing it's time to change with the times.
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“We have a policy that is unenforceable,” said Marshall. “Last year we had 70 out-of-school suspensions. We know everyone has one and everyone is using it.”
“What do we want to do? Allow them to use them and see if we can end up with less suspensions, which means they're missing another day of school anyway, which is defeating our whole purpose, or try something that seems to be working in other schools?” he continued.
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Marshall said the primary goal would be to allow cellphone use in hallways, between classes and during lunch.
“We're teaching them how they have to respond to society and that is by following rules of the company you work for, the university you go, to or any organization you belong to,” he said.
But, he added, some classroom use should also be reviewed.
“There are times in a classroom situation where the teacher would like a student or a group of students to be able to have access to the Internet,” he said. “Once again we'd be adding to education rather than detracting from it and having a student text under his desk.”
Marshall also suggested the district review the possibility of allowing students to bring personal laptops into schools, for the same educational purpose.
On Thursday, Superintendent David Baugh said he favors a change in the cellphone policy.
“In this day and age certain types of cellphones have a place in the educational setting when used correctly,” he said. “As a research tool, with Internet access, a day planner or calculator, cellphones, when used properly, can be very useful tools. The opportunity to teach cell phone etiquette is also a wonderful lesson for us to share with our students.”
