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On Jan. 26, the North East ISD board of trustees voted unanimously to maintain the school’s current cellphone policy and not to institute a bell-to-bell ban.
What happened
NEISD’s attorney, Ricardo Lopez, said that although the Texas Education Agency originally granted a 30-day extension to Jan. 30, the agency would not allow any additional time for the implementation of the bell-to-bell ban. Lopez also said NEISD is mostly compliant with the bell-to-bell ban.
The background
House Bill 1481 was passed during the 89th Texas legislative session and took effect June 20. The bill requires all school systems to adopt and implement a policy prohibiting students from using personal communication devices on school property during the school day, according to the TEA website.
Current NEISD cellphone restrictions:
"NEISD had an opportunity to correct course and comply with state law, but has refused to do so; therefore, the formal process will proceed," Lecholop said in the letter.
Board president David Beyer said NEISD’s current policy is common sense and allows parents to maintain contact with their children.
“We have a reasonable policy that has been vetted through our families, our communities, our schools, our educators [and] our students. It allows the students to learn in the classrooms because they're not using their phones, [and] allows our teachers to teach in the classrooms because they're not having to worry about taking care of kids' cellphones during class,” Beyer said.
Jarrett said that even if NEISD complies with TEA’s mandate, the district would still need to find a way for parents to maintain contact with their children.
“We would still try to partner with our families to try to find a reasonable solution to allow them to have access to their children,” Jarrett said.
District 3 trustee Diane Villarreal said the TEA is unfairly pressuring the district, using a bill that was poorly written.
“They didn't write a good bill, and it was not defined correctly. ... You don't go back after you pass a bill and then suddenly say, ‘Well, you guys should have known what we had in our minds, and you should just go ahead and bow to us and do what we tell you to do.’ I'm telling you, this is a test case, ... so I'm absolutely not on board with bowing to TEA,” Villarreal said.
District 2 trustee Tracie Shelton said changing the district’s policy could cause families to fabricate doctors' notes or reasons for their child to keep their cellphones.
“We asked [families] what they wanted, we gave them a policy that fits their needs, that sits within the law. And if we make this change, we are effectively saying, ‘Well, get a note from your doctor or sneak around back,’” Shelton said.
What to expect
Lopez said that after informing TEA of the board's decision, the agency will proceed with a preliminary report and potentially implement sanctions for not complying with the corrective action plan.
“[Sanctions] could be anything from the appointment of a conservator, it could be the appointment all the way to a board of managers,” Lopez said. “Those are the kinds of sanctions that are available to them to pursue.”
