This summer, following a teacher petition in June and updated cell-phone policies in surrounding districts, the USD497 school board decided to take a closer look at formalizing both the Free State and Lawrence High School Student Handbook cell-phone policies into an official school board policy.

This decision followed a mistake made, wherein the district’s elementary school cell-phone policy was input into the high school handbook: a policy that banned cell-phones entirely within school buildings.

School Board Vice President G.R. Gordon-Ross shared that the school board saw some teachers, unaware of the mistake, came out in support of a total ban. Science teacher David Reber, one of 80 teachers who petitioned to the school board, believes a bell-to-bell ban is the best and only way to address concerns with student cell-phone use.

The current cell-phone policy permits phone usage before school, during passing periods, lunch and after school. Gordon-Ross expressed the aim of a revised and formalized policy being to better support teachers by making the current handbook policy more explicit and through adding additional framework surrounding consequences for not adhering to the policy.

“We believe that, properly managed, [phones] can be effective,” Gordon-Ross said.

“We’ve just never seen it be properly managed. The response that we have is: what you’re doing now doesn’t work, which is true because we have heard from staff that they don’t feel like they’re supported from their building leadership to do it correctly.”

On the logistical side of the policy’s development, school board member Anne Costello explained how the Board Policy Committee researched cell phone policies, and wrote a first draft of the new phone policy based on that research.

“Committee members then asked the Directors of Elementary and Secondary Education to gather feedback on the draft from high school communities, including administrators, and to work with them to develop the policy guidance,” Costello explained.

Gordon-Ross expressed that from his knowledge as a member of board leadership, the Policy Committee has no intent to implement a bell to bell ban, citing that the school board wants teachers to have the ability to control cell-phone use as they see fit in their classrooms. Gordon-Ross added that should the new phone policy prove inadequate, the school board would be open to revisiting the issue of a total ban.

“There is no intent to remove phones from the building or to completely put a 100% ban on phones,” Gordon-Ross said.

However, Costello expressed that the phone policy would include a bell to bell ban.

“The current draft of the policy includes a bell to bell phone away,” Costello said. Costello added that the board reviews policies regularly.

In response to the potential new policy, English department co-chair and teacher Kylee Johnston expressed her belief that even with increased support for teachers to implement individualized cell phone policies, it would fall short of addressing her worry that a high percentage of high schoolers still struggle to manage their cell-phone use.

Per Gordon-Ross, the first read of the policy is scheduled to reach the school board on Nov. 25, and will be put up for school board vote in December.