A policy intended to clarify students’ use of cellphones and other electronic devices in Shawnee Mission schools was deemed not quite ready for approval at a board meeting Monday night.
But the issue is scheduled to come up again at the board’s next meeting on Jan. 13, and board members said they hope to begin implementing it by February.
What do the draft cellphone rules say?
The draft policy sets different rules for elementary, middle and high school students, in an effort to make it “age appropriate,” said Superintendent Michael Schumacher.
- For elementary and pre-K students, all personal electronic devices must be silenced and stored in backpacks or personal storage bags for the entirety of the school day.
- For middle schoolers, the muted devices must be stored in lockers or a designated school administration spot during the school day but can be accessed during passing periods.
- For high schoolers, muted devices (smart watches excepted), must be stored in backpacks or in a teacher-approved secure area of a classroom. Students may access them during non-instructional time, including passing periods and lunch.
“This is one of the hardest decisions I think we’ll make this year,” Schumacher said. “But if we can protect instructional time at the high school without fail, that is a huge step in the right direction.”
Shawnee Mission has been discussing cellphones for months
The proposed policy as recommended by Schumacher was the product of months of team meetings and community outreach.
Use of electronics during school time has been the subject of an intense campaign by advocates who want a “bell-to-bell” ban that would put cellphones out of reach of students for the entire school day. (Earlier this year, some parents circulated a petition calling for “phone free” schools in Shawnee Mission.)
Supporters of such strict rules cite research on how devices can negatively affect students’ mental health and social learning, as well as teachers’ ability to keep them focused on classwork.
But some other parents have argued for at least some access to cellphones for students to reach parents in case of emergency, for instance.
Public commenters differed
Some of those opinions were evident in the public comment session held the half hour before the official board meeting began Monday.
Grace Hobson of Overland Park, said the draft proposal didn’t appear to be very different from the guidance already on the district’s books and seemed to even expand access.
“That is just bizarro world to me that you listen to all the research and come up with an expanded ability to have personal devices during the school day,” she said. “You guys like to talk about aiming for the North Star. How in the world does this do that?”
Another commenter, Chris Huff of Overland Park, said, “The reality is technology isn’t going anywhere and our children need to be afforded the space to make mistakes before they are adults, including in school. I understand that lots of people here want to shelter their children from making many mistakes in school or having problems, but that’s the wrong approach.”
He asked board members to make their decision based on academics “and nothing else.”
Schumacher said he hopes the draft policy finds common ground in that most people want enforcement to be more consistent across the board.
Proposed policy takes different approaches based on grade level
The district’s action team that met to examine the question and make recommendations was itself split on cellphone rules when it came to high school students, with six members favoring restrictions on use during instruction time and five for a stricter bell-to-bell policy.
Schumacher said the different levels of access for elementary, middle and high schoolers is intended to be “age appropriate” in allowing more levels of access for children as they approach adulthood.
Devices haven’t been so much a problem in elementary schools and middle schools, but their use needs to be addressed in high schools, he said.
High school students also use their phones for many things, including scheduling, communicating with coaches and employers, he said.
A district “thought exchange,” or survey, on the cellphone issue showed 45% of the 4,658 respondents believe the district’s current policy reduces classroom distractions, he said.
However, that number dropped to 36% when it came to participants who answered the question about the high school level, in particular.
Practical concerns about enforcement
There were other factors at play as well.
Schumacher said his recommendation took into consideration what school principals think they can realistically enforce when so many high school students would have to go to lockers to check for messages.
“Our buildings are huge, there’s 1,700 students. A direct quote from one of our principals was, ‘Mike, please don’t ask us to do this,'” he said.
Even with phone use allowed during passing periods and lunch, the devices would be out of kids’ hands for 89% of the day, he said.
However, some board members had questions Monday night that they wanted to address before taking a final vote.
Board members Heather Ousley and Jamie Borgman asked for more specifics on how device infractions would fit into the district’s existing discipline matrix. For instance, could a student face suspension for not following device rules?
“It’s a fine needle that teachers are trying to thread,” said Borgman. “They’re trying to establish a relationship with their students, and they’re left carrying the bag with this policy.”
Schumacher responded that school principals are committed to consistent enforcement but would need a little extra time to calibrate exactly how infractions should be handled.
Other board members asked for a better definition of non-instructional time and whether it included study halls or the down time after a student completes assignments. They also asked for a clear definition of electronic devices.
