School board to look at cell phone policy

The school system doesn?t want to be in the cellphone business.

That?s why some members of the school board are looking to revise the school system?s cellphone policy before next school year.

Under current policy, cellphones are confiscated for the remainder of the school year the second time a student is caught with one in school during school hours. High school students can bring cellphones on campus, but the phones must be left in their cars and only used after school hours.

The current policy means a student who gets a second offense in October, for example, would have to go roughly seven months without that cellphone. It?s a policy some school board members think is too harsh.

?For starters, the phones themselves are expensive,? said school board chairperson Dr. Debbie Watlington. ?And most of the time you get locked into a contract. So you could be paying for months on a phone you can?t use. I?d like to see us not keep the phones.?

The cellphone policy came to the forefront last week when a parent attended a school board meeting to request a confiscated cellphone be returned. She said her son, who was in an automotive class, had the phone out to check the time. That?s when it was confiscated. Since it was this student?s second offense, he loses the phone until May.

Abiding by its policy, the school board voted to deny the request to have the phone returned.

?We have to follow board policy that?s in place for this year,? said Watlington. ?But I want you to know the cellphone policy is one of the things we?re looking at for next year.?

School board member Larry Judkins says he favors keeping current policy. He says if the goal is to keep cellphones out of the classroom, the punishment should be severe.

?I?m pretty happy with the policy the way it is,? said Judkins. ?I don?t think cellphones should be in school where they can disrupt class.

?The policy is posted in the handbook so everybody should know the rules. And if you?re going to have rules, you have to have some type of deterrent or nobody will pay attention.?

Judkins says he understands the need for students to get in touch with family members and that?s why the policy was recently modified to allow cellphones in vehicles for after-school use.

School board member John Turner says he believes students should be able to have cellphones inside schools, but using them in class should not be tolerated.

?My personal opinion is they should be able to carry them to their locker but not use them in class,? said Turner. ?If they?re caught using them in a class, knock five points off their final grade for that six weeks. It won?t take long before that sends a message.?

School board members say whatever policy is adopted they want all teachers to enforce it, not just some teachers.

?Cellphones are part of society now,? said Watlington. ?We need to educate kids on how to use technology responsibly so it?s not a disturbance.?