“While it'll be a very difficult adjustment for many, I know it's going to make an impact on mental health in our district for our students and educational outcomes as well, so I'm thankful for that,” board President Misty Odenweller said at the meeting.
The policy will take effect for grades K-12 on Aug. 13, according to CISD.
How we got here
The vote comes after the Texas Senate passed House Bill 1481, which mandates that school districts adopt policies banning the use of personal communication devices during the school day. The legislation was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for final approval May 28, according to Community Impact reporting.
Conroe ISD trustees discussed codifying the district’s cellphone policies at its May 13 meeting, but the board did not commit to any changes, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
What happens next?
Under the approved policy, telecommunications devices “are not to be used during class change passing periods or lunch periods.”
According to CISD packet agenda, the consequences for unauthorized use of a telecommunications device are that the device “will be confiscated with each offense, held in the school office and returned to the student at the end of that school day.”
However, the district said district employees can allow students to use their personal devices during the school day in extenuating circumstances such as letting a parent or guardian know of a late bus.
CISD documents added that a student can be exempted from the policy if the use of their device is determined as necessary by the student’s medical provider or if the student is part of a 504 plan.
One more thing
CISD school board trustee Lindsay Dawson suggested setting up a town hall meeting during the summer to make sure students, parents and district employees are on the same page about the approved policy.
“I realize this is a big shift ... it's not going to just be on teachers and administrators to enforce this, the whole community needs to get behind us,” Dawson said. “The kids, parents especially, we all need to be on the same page about this policy.”
