photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Lawrence school board reviews the first reading of the newly developed cellphone policy on Monday, November 25, 2024.

After hearing the district’s newly drafted high school cellphone policy, Lawrence school board members agreed phones should be out of sight, silent, and not disrupt class, though opinions differed on whether the proposed policy was just rehashing the current one, and there was some confusion about its scope.

The current policy in place for cellphones at the high school level says phones should be “put away and out of sight,” and the new policy reads that phones should be “turned off and stored out of sight at all times during school hours.”

On Monday, the school board was presented with a new cellphone use policy for the district’s high school as well as a recommended guidance from the administration. Board member Anne Costello, said that after reading the new policy, she was under the impression that it meant cellphones would be put away for the entirety of the school day, but that wasn’t the intention. This policy is intended to be in reference to only instructional time while students were in the classroom, and it would allow students to use their phones during a passing period and at lunch time.

But then came the question of what was different in comparison to the current policy. “It just doesn’t look that different compared to what we have today,” Costello said. She said that the policy reads as though cellphones are not allowed at all during school hours.

Board member Bob Byers agreed and added that the board should make an amendment to further clarify the intention of the new policy, whatever it may be.

“My view of this policy is it’s a restatement of our old policy, but basically, it’s supposedly what we’ve been doing for years,” Byers said. Both Costello and Byers agreed that the line stating that phones have to be “turned off and stored out of sight at all times during school hours,” may need to be amended.

However, Board President Kelly Jones said that the new policy includes a big change to what is in place.

“I would say that this policy is different from what we currently have in policy, which allows for the usage of cellphones during instructional time if the teacher selects to do that,” Jones said. “And with this policy, it would not allow for that.” But there are some exceptions.

Exceptions are built in for students who have medical needs and individualized education plans, or IEPs. These students may use their phones or other electronic devices as required by their health plan or as specified in their accommodations.

Swift said that the district has to start somewhere when it comes to implementing change. She added that during the passing periods and lunch, it would be a time for students to check in with family, and having this time is important for students with extracurricular activities and jobs. And most importantly, with this change, it would minimize the distractions in the classroom.

Justin Blumenstiel, a parent and University of Kansas professor, previously spoke to the board during public comment on the teacher policy for phone-free schools. Blumenstiel created his own petition to support the change in policy after numerous teachers urged the implementation of phone-free policies.

Blumenstiel shared his own feedback with the school board on Monday after listening to the discussions about the new policy. He expressed the belief that there should be a uniform policy for all teachers to follow, emphasizing that cellphone usage should be consistent across classrooms.

This was the school board’s first look at the new cellphone policy, and while they approved a first reading of the policy on Monday, a final decision wasn’t made. Jones said that she intends for the board to amend the policy before the second reading and final approval on Dec. 9, so it aligns with the administration’s recommended guidance.

In other business, school board members:

Beryl Ann New, who won the District 6 seat for the Kansas State Board of Education earlier this month, attended the Lawrence school board meeting on Monday, November 25, 2024.

* Heard a presentation from Interim Superintendent Jeanice Swift about the information gathered from community members during her series of Fall Community Engagement sessions. During October and November, Swift invited students, school families, staff and patrons to share their thoughts on the school district during in-person sessions and through an online survey.

According to the presentation, the biggest request from community members was to implement a cellphone-free instructional time. The community survey has received 620 responses so far with 482 responses from parents and guardians of the school district.

The school district plans to host more conversations with community groups and the survey will be open until Dec. 19, according to the presentation. The final report will be available to the school board and the community in January.

* Approved an additional $125,000 to complete the next phases of renovations to Schwegler Elementary School, which includes the remaining 13 classrooms. This funding will go toward completing custom-designed cabinetry for storage in classrooms to organize materials for both students and staff to store learning materials and supplies as well as providing work surfaces.

The project has involved the demolition of existing casework, painting, and the installation of new casework, countertops, sinks, bubblers, bulletin boards, whiteboards and coat hooks in classrooms at Schwegler. When the renovations are completed, the classroom casework at Schwegler will be fully renovated. The increase will bring the total purchasing authority for fiscal year 2025 to $425,000, to be paid from Capital Outlay funds.

* Approved the purchase and installation of playground equipment from Aspire 2 Play LLC at New York Elementary School in the amount of $64,287. The Facilities and Operations Department worked in collaboration with New York Elementary building administration to identify specific needs at the playground. The selection of the base package took into account various factors, including ADA requirements, student enrollment, building capacity, and student-to-playground ratios.

Earlier this year, the school board approved the 2024-2025 Capital Improvement Project List, which included enhancements to districtwide playgrounds. The list earmarks the replacement of the oldest core play structure at New York Elementary, prompted by safety concerns and the aging of the equipment. This purchase will be paid from the Facilities and Operations Capital Outlay Fund.

* Approved a contract with Lineage Mail Services LLC not to exceed $100,000 annually. The district continues to benefit from postage discounts by consolidating mailings with other participating organizations and agencies through the service. The district says it has reduced postage expenses by 28% over the past seven years.