The Juneau School District is cracking down on cell phone use in schools. The Board of Education passed a policy amendment Tuesday.
Students in kindergarten through high school will now have to turn off any phones, tablets, and laptops and stow them in their backpack or locker for the day. High school students will be allowed to use phones outside of school buildings at lunch or during free periods.
Previously, the district’s phone policy left decisions about whether students could use phones to principals.
The change comes following a change to state law that requires districts to adopt a policy that limits phone use during the school day. And restricting phones in schools is part of a nationwide trend.
The policy change passed 4 to 2 with members Amber Frommherz and Steve Whitney opposed.
Whitney said he disagrees with students’ freedoms being limited.
“Our country is based on freedom of speech and also privacy and I think those foundations need to be enforced —or need to be introduced and instilled—before people are adults, while they’re young,” he said.
Board member Emil Mackey said he agrees with Whitney philosophically but he believes phone use in classrooms harms students.
“I think that there really is a problem from online bullying, from distractions in the classroom to the inability for students to concentrate, to falling test scores,” he said.
The policy allows staff to search students’ phones if they have reasonable suspicion the student is breaking a rule. The board debated the legality of that provision.
City attorney Emily Wright said the policy is legally sound, and pointed out that educators are allowed to to search backpacks and lockers without a warrant.
But Wright suggested turning to other districts’ policies for wording if members felt the policy violated students’ privacy.
“But I think that if you are unsatisfied with that language, there are many, many, many schools that have been grappling with this,” she said. “And we can help you find better language that feels like the right balance.”
In a district survey of more than 700 students and teachers, only 22% of respondents said they would support a stricter policy or total ban on cell phones in schools.
The policy allows for exceptions if students use devices for medical or translation purposes, in case of emergencies, and if teachers give permission for educational purposes. Laptops are also allowed in class for instructional purposes.
