MANCHESTER, NH – After the passage of a new state law that came into effect on July 1 banning cell phones in classes “from bell to bell” outside of a few exceptions, the Manchester School District is now required to create a new policy upholding that law. During Wednesday’s Manchester Board of School Committee Policy Committee meeting, a skeleton of that policy was put forward for final approval by the full Board of School Committee next week.
The initial six section policy proposal (see below) brought forward by Manchester School District legal counsel Attorney Matt Upton incorporated language from the new law regarding exceptions for the cell phone ban for students requiring use of cell phones for medical, disability or language proficiency needs for students learning English as a second language. The proposed policy also aims to build upon principles established last year in the district’s policy regarding responsible use of technology in schools.
While there was a general consensus among members of the committee and public that prohibiting cell phone usage in classrooms in almost all cases is beneficial to the learning environment, there were concerns about other exceptions not allowed under the new state law such as timely communication of family emergencies or the usage of cell phones as calculators when dedicated calculators may not be available for all students. There was also frustration by some members of the committee about the prohibition on the usage of the devices in non-classroom areas, with Board of School Committee Vice Chair Jim O’Connell attacking the state law as unnecessary overreach over a more flexible and simpler cell phone ban that is easier to implement, stating that he will not support any funding to enforce the new policy required under the new law.
However, At-Large Board of School Committee Member Peter Argeropoulos said he would have supported strengthening the district’s device usage policy if the state law were not passed, stating that time without devices during lunch is critical to the development of students’ soft skills and helps students avoid potential addiction to device usage.
“This will be a change in culture for many people, but it’s something that can be done,” he said.
There were also various concerns about the implementation of the policy. Ward 5 Board of School Committee Member Jason Bonilla felt that in-person training would be necessary to avoid undue stress to educators in trying to interpret this additional task on top of their other educational duties. He also felt only educators with established relationships with students should be allowed to take phones from students in violation of the policy, feeling that attempts by strangers to take the devices could result in an escalated confrontation.
Ward 7 Board of School Committee Member Chris Potter agreed with Bonilla’s feeling that consistency is needed, implementation of the policy should be done without bias. He also wanted to clarify that the policy applied to electronic devices, not non-electronic devices, and should also be extended to gaming devices. Potter also indicated that whenever a device is taken it should be powered down, existing damage should be documented and additional discipline should only be put in place for safety violations.
Concerns were raised over how to identify which students have exemptions and how to safeguard the devices once they are taken, with Upton recommending that administrators enter classrooms throughout the day and pick up any devices during those stops.
A motion to accept the proposed policy with amendments was recommended by the committee. The first amendment came from Ward 4 Leslie Want, requesting an aspirational note in the policy explaining why taking phones out of the classrooms is in the best interests of students in most cases. The proposals from Bonilla and Potter were also added as amendments, with data on exemptions to be placed in the district’s Aspen system, language about communicating the policy clearly to families, prohibiting the searching of phones, removing liability from teachers and administration for phone damage, and indicating that phones can be used during emergency situations such as a fire or an active shooter event.
Upton said he could incorporate these additions into the proposed policy on Thursday in time to be added for the agenda to Monday’s Board of School Committee meeting, the last such meeting before the beginning of the school year.
The new state law updates NH RSA 189:1-a and was the 244th of 247 amendments to HB2, the bill dedicated to biennial fees, funds, taxes and expenditures.