Kanawha Schools set new rules to restrict phone use during instruction time

Unveiling a new policy

Staff members were tasked with interpreting the code to create a policy that fit KCS best. KCS's General Counsel Lindsey McIntosh explained that ambiguity within the law created challenges.

After consulting principals, parents and students, the district decided that phones must be stored during instructional time but may be used during non-instructional periods, like lunch and class transitions, depending on grade level:

The new rules passed by the school board on Monday are:

• Elementary students: cellphones and personal electronic devices are not to be used at all during the school day. Devices must be kept away from students all day.
• Middle school students: Students are not allowed to access or use their phones at any time during the instructional day. Devices must be stored (in lockers, pouches or as determined by each school) and remain inaccessible until the end of the school day.
• High school students: Students must store their phones in lockers during instructional time but are permitted to use their phones during lunch and class transitions (non-instructional periods). After these periods, phones must be returned to lockers. The policy requires all high schools to provide lockers for this purpose.

"[High schools] had to have lockers," McIntosh said. "Because the only way that this works in the high school setting, [and] not in middle school, is with lockers. Because, if they had [security] pouches, for instance, and they were allowed to have it during lunch or transition, you'd have to be locking and unlocking those pouches [at every transition]."

Parent concerns

Kanawha Schools sought comment from principals, students and parents. McIntosh said parents had several safety concerns during the policy’s development, including:

• Device security: Phones are expensive, but staff say lockers will provide more protection from theft.
• Emergency communication: Parents wanted phones kept on (but silenced) so they could track their children with apps like Life360 and contact them, if needed.
• Medical needs: Exceptions will be made only for students with a documented health plan, such as diabetics who need real-time glucose monitoring. Other needs, like anxiety or medication reminders, don’t qualify unless part of an official plan. If the need can be met with school-provided technology, that option will be used instead.

"Every classroom has a red button that, if touched," said board member Tracy White, referring to emergency communication devices in classrooms. "It gives an emergency response to the office."

White assured families that students have several ways to communicate in case of an emergency, including an emergency reporting app on their school-supplied iPads, and that students would not face repercussions for pulling their phone out in an emergency.

Enforcement

White acknowledged that this could be a hurdle for staff to enforce.

“I know we wouldn't probably have come up with this policy, but the Legislature passed a law, and we are charged with enforcing it," she said. "This is going to be a hard time. If you took [all] our phones away from us, it would be difficult. It's just something that we as human beings are now used to having. We shouldn't have phones in the classroom. That should be instructional time. I feel for our staff, come Friday.�

Both she and board President Ric Cavender said they feel the new policy will ultimately benefit Kanawha Schools.

"I think this will probably be much better for the instructional day," Cavender said after the meeting. "It’s going to create a whole lot less distraction for our students throughout the day, keep them focused. And I think we’ll probably see some really good benefits.�

If students are out of line, however, they will be punished according to KCS's disciplinary policies. The disciplinary action for violating the cellphone policy follows a progressive system:

• First infraction: The student receives a verbal warning, documented in the school’s disciplinary system.
• Second infraction: The student’s device is confiscated, but the student may pick it up at the end of the day.
• Third infraction: The device is confiscated again but, this time, a parent must pick it up at the end of the day.
• Fourth infraction: The violation is escalated to the district’s behavior policy.

Consequences could include:

• Revocation of cellphone privileges
• Denial of participation in class and/or school activities, such as field trips, prom, graduation ceremonies, etc.
• Immediate classroom exclusion with a recommended duration of one period/subject of the school day for the first exclusion
• In-school suspension
• Out-of-school suspension for a maximum of three days

Every infraction, including verbal warnings, must be documented immediately to prevent multiple infractions accumulating unnoticed in one day, McIntosh said.

The policy is designed to give students a chance to adjust and correct their behavior before facing more serious consequences, while also ensuring consistency and accountability across the district.

What's next

To kick off the school year, Superintendent Paula Potter will conduct in-person town halls, at which parents may voice their concerns or support for the upcoming year.