The board of trustees approved the change to its policy and updated the district's Student Code of Conduct during an Aug. 28 school board meeting.
"Comal ISD's implementation and procedures related to personal communication devices were carefully vetted by district leaders [and] campus administration to ensure compliance with state law and practical implementation," said Corbee Wunderlich, assistant superintendent of student services.
The Texas Senate unanimously passed HB 1481 on May 25. The legislation was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for final approval on June 20. The proposals mandate that districts adopt policies banning the use of personal communication devices during the school day, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
What parents should know
All personal communication devices must be powered off or silenced and stowed away during school hours, which include instructional time, lunch and hallway passing periods, according to communication the district sent to parents.
The Texas Education Code states that “personal communication devices” include cell phones, personal tablets, laptops, radios and paging devices. Wearable technology also falls under a “personal communication device” and can include:
- Artificial Intelligence, smart glasses
- Smart watches
- Earbuds
- Wireless headphones
- Fitness trackers
Trustee David Krawczynski thanked district staff for their work on the updated phone policy.
“I think overall this is a big step in the right direction for our education system,” Krawczynski said.
Trustee Tim Hennessee said the updated phone policy was going well at the high school and said, “Life happens outside your thumbs.”
Board Vice President Russ Garner said the new policy has been executed extremely well across the district.
“Obviously, it was a pretty impactful state law that came out, and there [were] a lot of districts around the state that rushed to buy stuff or do stuff, and in [Comal ISD] we took the summer, we listened to what was going on around the state,” Garner said.
