By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
On the road or in the classroom, cell phones are a known distraction. School districts around the state continue to battle electronic devices during class time. At Monday's USD 431 Board of Education meeting, Hoisington High School Principal Joel Mason asked the board to amend the school's current cell phone policy.
"Our policy right now is kids just can't be on their phones during class time," he said. "Our policy doesn't state they can't have it on them or even on their desk or under the desk. Kids are just like adults, I guess. I know if I'm working at my desk and my phone buzzes, I'm looking over at it."
Mason purchased pouches that can be hung on the wall in each classroom and used for storage. The new policy will require students place their phones in the pouches barring a medical exception.
"My original thought was just no cell phones in the classroom," Mason said. "They have to stay in the locker. I can see where that's going: longer trips are going to exponentially increase, bathroom breaks will exponentially increase, tardies will increase. I still want to be able to teach these kids how to use their phones responsibly, not just completely take them from them."
Under current policy, phones must be off or silenced. If a teacher hears a phone go off during class, the phone is confiscated and taken to the office to be retrieved after school. Subsequent violations require the student to serve a detention before the phone can be retrieved. The revised policy still allows students access to their phones in the event of an emergency.
"I know some of the active-shooter training wanted kids to be able to have access to a phone in case of a lockdown situation," said Board Member Julia Debes. "I think the phones in the pocket in the classroom are a good first step."
The board voted 7-0 to approve the amendment effective for the 2024-25 school year.