photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Lawrence school board met on Monday, December 9, 2024 at the school district offices, 110 McDonald Dr.

High school students in the Lawrence school district soon won’t be able to use their cellphones during instructional time.

On Monday, the Lawrence school board unanimously approved a new policy that will make high school classrooms phone-free during instructional time. The policy is set to begin in January.

During the meeting, Interim Superintendent Jeanice Swift said the goal of the new policy was all about lifting up teaching and learning in the classroom. Before students go on winter break, Swift told the board that the district will begin meeting with administrators and principals to “support this cultural shift” and work to educate the community on the benefits to limiting screen time in schools. The district also planned to send a communication to parents about the new policy shortly after Monday’s school board meeting, she said.

School board president Kelly Jones said the board’s Policy Committee will continue to monitor the policy’s implementation and assess whether any refinements are needed. The provision that the policy would be further reviewed, and possibly refined, was also important to other board members. Board member GR Gordon-Ross said he could support the policy with the provision that it will be monitored closely as it is implemented.

Board member Anne Costello said that while she is in support of an even stronger ban of cellphones, she was able to support this new policy “knowing that we are going to continue to look at this.”

The board left open the possibility that other policy changes in the future could impact schools beyond the high schools.

Currently, elementary school students are not allowed to use cellphones at school. Middle school students may not use them during class or passing periods, but their principals may use discretion when deciding about student use of cell phones during lunch.

“What we’re really hearing from our teachers in the classroom, from our principals, and is actually the No. 1 request among the hundreds of parents that we’ve heard from … is a focus on the reduction of screen time at the elementary level,” Swift said.

The policy change regarding cellphones at high schools comes about as several parents and teachers had called for a change and presented petitions to the board earlier in the year. On Monday, a pair of parents, both supportive of the change, were the only public commenters on the item.

In other business, board members:

* Approved a short-term spring contract not to exceed $35,000 with Proximity Learning. This contract will enable the district to pilot a virtual learning program at West Middle School for World Language and Spanish courses.

The virtual school will hire a certified teacher to deliver live, virtual instruction and offer interactive lessons, along with in-class support. The classroom at West will remain staffed by a long-term substitute who will also collaborate weekly with the virtual teacher. According to the agenda, Lawrence has faced challenges in recruiting and hiring highly qualified, content-certified teachers for certain subjects, particularly Spanish at the middle school level.

A presentation included in the agenda reports that the Lawrence school district currently has 50 certified teaching vacancies, with 31 in special education and 19 in general education. The Kansas State Department of Education’s annual report shows that this is a statewide trend, with special education facing the highest number of teacher vacancies in the state at 480, an increase of 82 since spring. Elementary teaching positions also saw a significant shortage, with 449 vacancies this fall.

According to the agenda, the partnership with Proximity Learning may be terminated if the district hires a qualified candidate for the position.

* Heard the findings from a survey conducted by the architecture firm ACI Boland, which assessed the current sports facilities, physical education spaces, and extracurricular sports venues at the district’s middle and high schools.

The evaluation also included a comparison of these facilities with those of peer districts within the same conference. To collect staff feedback, the evaluation team created an electronic survey. The anonymous responses from the staff survey contributed to shaping the study’s findings and recommendations, as stated in the agenda.

A presentation in the agenda outlines several concerns about the facilities at the middle schools, particularly the condition of tracks and tennis courts.

At the high school level, concerns include inadequate capacity for wrestling, especially with the addition of girls’ wrestling in the same season. Other issues involve the condition of tracks and tennis courts, outdated fitness equipment, and the overall state of the gym facilities. Additionally, the press box at Free State High School requires repairs, and there are concerns about the gym’s seating capacity for cross-town games.

* Approved the purchase of 300 wireless access points for a total of $102,304 to provide students, staff, and visitors with access to network resources and the internet through desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and iPads. The cost will be covered by the Capital Outlay fund allocated for technology expenses.

* Approved year four of a five-year subscription for ConvergeOne, which provides IT security software to ensure network viability, security protection and operations, in the amount of $193,011 The purchase will include services from Cisco Cloudlock, Umbrella, and AMP4E Essentials, all designed to protect against internet threats by filtering web traffic and blocking threats before they reach the network. The cost will be covered by Technology Capital Outlay funds.

* Allowed for the disposal of outdated secondary athletic and activity uniforms through sale or auction, with prior approval from the building principal and the athletic or activities director. The proceeds from the sale of uniforms will be deposited into the account for replacement uniforms or program expenses specific to the sport or activity, or directed to the school’s athletics or activities programs.

* Held an executive session for the purpose of discussing personnel matters with Swift invited to be present. There was no action to follow the session.