Over the past few months, the Kane County School Board has been taking public comments during the regular board meetings on a potential new district cell phone policy. The goals of a district policy are to protect instructional time free of cell phone distractions, create a district expectation when cell phones are allowed and not allowed during the school day, and establish consistency across the district for each school relating to student cell phone use. The Delay Smartphones Kanab has provided policy comments, and school principals and community councils have also provided feedback on the proposed policy as well. The new proposed cell phone policy FHAH-1 is as follows:
FHAH-1 (Draft Policy)
KCSD Student Cell Phone and Electronic Device Draft Policy
Cell phones and electronic devices will be allowed before school, during lunch, and after school. Principals may adjust time restrictions as needed for their individual schools. They may not be used in the classroom except with teacher direction for educational purposes.
1st Offense:
Cell phones and electronic devices that disrupt the learning environment will be confiscated by the classroom teacher, at which point the teacher will determine the severity of the infraction. This may include a conversation with a student about appropriate cell phone use in their classroom, or the student may be referred to the principal’s office. The cell phone will be returned to the parent or student at the end of the day with parent notification.
2nd Offense:
The cell phone will be returned to the parent.
3rd Offense:
The cell phone will be returned to the parent. The cell phone will be checked in at the front office during school hours on a case-by-case basis from that point forward, as determined by the principal.
Student medical plans will be approved on a case-by-case basis for electronic use.
The Kane County School Board will be considering the approval of the FHAH-1 policy in their April 16th school board meeting. If you have comments for the board, please email them to me at daltonb@kane.k12.ut.us