This revision comes after the board opted to create a committee to revise policies in August, agreeing that a districtwide policy for device use would have a positive impact on implementation and student learning. Other nearby districts, such as Katy ISD, have made changes restricting use depending on time and grade levels earlier in the year.
The revisions are to be effective immediately, district officials said.
The framework
With the exception of lunch, devices are to remain in students’ backpacks for the duration of the day. Teachers and administrators have the discretion to allow use and confiscate devices, according to the Student Code of Conduct.
Inappropriate use will result in confiscation of the device until the end of the day and parent contact. Repeated offenses will result in a $15 fine, and parents must pick up the device. Consequences after the second offense will subsequently graduate from in-school suspension, to suspension, to recommended Alternative Learning Center placement, the policy stated.
Terms to know
The committee has replaced mentions of “phone” with “telecommunication device” to include noncellular devices that could be used to record and communicate, such as iPads or Apple Watches.
“They record. They can access the internet. So we just wanted to have not really a specific distinction of just cell phones. So, if you have your iPad, you have your Apple watch, [and] you have all these different things that you can use nowadays to do recording, videoing, whatever it is,” board member Suzanne Box said.
Board President Zach Lambert added that this revision to the policy will avoid “beating around the bush or trying to get away” by using other devices that aren’t necessarily phones. A glossary update qualifies the prohibited use of telecommunication devices as “contraband.”
What’s changing?
The new revisions code the recording of others in a bathroom, locker room or compromising situation as “invasive videoing,” resulting in Disciplinary Alternative Education Program placement or Discretionary Expulsion.
“[Invasive videoing] triggers involvement of the police and they are the ones that handle the felony,” Area Superintendent Benjamin Hernandez said.
Box noted that the violation is still “indeed, within the law, a state jail felony,” and the authorities would still be notified following the incident.
One more thing
The policy prohibits the use of telecommunication devices during tests, which the revision defines as an assignment classified as a major grade. This violation results in confiscation for parent pickup and a zero in the major grade category.
