Olathe Public Schools is taking steps to limit cell phone and electronic device usage in its school buildings for the coming school year.
After months of discussion, on Thursday, the Olathe Board of Education voted 6-1 to adopt the new policy — which covers items like headphones, smart watches and other devices in addition to cell phones. School board member Brad Boyd cast the lone dissenting vote.
The new policy does not ban such devices from school buildings, Superintendent Brent Yeager stressed during the meeting this week. The focus, instead, is on offering “consistency” for what is considered appropriate at each grade level and how disruptive electronics use is dealt with districtwide.
What is Olathe schools’ phone policy?
- Under the policy, students of any age can have their cell phones in their bags, in their locker or kept “on their person” provided they “are not visible during the school day.”
- Students in elementary and middle school cannot use their cell phones or other electronic devices during school hours.
- High school students cannot use their cell phones or other electronic devices during class time but can have them during lunch and passing periods.
- Additionally, students of any age are allowed to use devices for medical needs or during emergencies.
- Students who do not follow the policy will face “age-appropriate discipline,” which could include having their electronic device privileges revoked temporarily or permanently.
Cell phone use in classrooms is a growing concern
- Olathe isn’t the only Johnson County school district that has taken up this particular issue recently.
- The Shawnee Mission School District is reviewing cell phone usage, intending to study it as part of the five-year strategic plan. It’s unclear if that district will enact any new rules ahead of the school year that starts later this month.
- Gardner-Edgerton has adopted a new cell phone policy for the coming school year as well that bars cell phone use “within the classroom environment and during instructional activities.”
- At the state level, the Kansas State Board of Education announced plans last month to commission a task force that includes students, teachers and other education officials to tackle cell phones in classrooms.
Most board members support the policy for now
Multiple Olathe school board members indicated that they see this policy as a starting point, signaling a desire to delve into the issue of cell phones in the learning environment further in the future.
Yeager also acknowledged that there’s “a little bit of gray” in a policy like this, particularly in reference to students who use e-readers instead of traditional books.
Boyd, the lone dissenter, said he couldn’t support the policy as is because it didn’t have enough “delineation” for the expectations of and rules for students and their electronic devices based on age groups.
For now, though, the majority of the school board said this policy works for them.
“Our goal, at the end of the day, is protecting the educational time in school and making sure that these devices aren’t interrupting our educators from educating and our students from learning,” said Julie Steele, school board vice president.
Next steps:
- This new policy is effective immediately and will apply to students for the upcoming school year, which starts Aug. 13.
- At the request of school board members, there will be a check-in about how the policy is working, potentially as soon as December.
- In the meantime, the school district plans to start sending out communication to families about the new policy.
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