A ban on student cell phone usage on the campuses of Tallassee City Schools is nothing new.
The policy came to light as the Tallassee Board of Education started to look into modifying the current policy to add technology such as smart watches.
“The policy as written has been there for years,” superintendent Dr. Brock Nolin said. “They are not supposed to be on and they are supposed to be hidden.”
Nolin said prior high school administrators had grown lax when enforcing the board policy. With the language update needed, Nolin and the board are investigating other steps such as a pouch-like device similar to the Yondr used at Stanhope Elmore. Staff and parents were surveyed.
“Most of the staff liked the idea,” Nolin said. “Most of the parents are against the idea.”
The survey received 298 responses and 67.8% of respondents said no to a pouch.
“If a personal, wireless communication device is brought by a student to Tallassee City Schools, it must be kept hidden and in the off position at all times during the school day,” the current policy states.
Of those taking the survey, 58.7% said the current policy should not be enforced, yet 65% said cell phones were a distraction to the learning environment.
Several parents left comments saying it should fall to parenting.
“If current policy is enforced there is no need for the pouch,” one parent said. “If the policy is to place phones somewhere in the room as they enter and take when they leave that should be enforced.”
The parent believes there needs to be consistency in enforcing the policy for it to be effective.
Other parents said parents should be the ones to handle the discipline issues related to cell phones.
“If my child becomes disruptive with his phone, and I am notified, I will take it away,” the parent said. “I believe students should be allowed to have their phones during non-instructive downtimes.”
Another parent said their child has a cell phone to contact them in case of an emergency. They track their child’s use of the phone through an app.
“I know for a fact she turns it off when she gets on the bus and turns it back on when she’s on the bus ride home so I can track where her school bus is, too,” the parent said in the survey.
Another parent said they had taught their student when it is appropriate or not to use the phone.
“I expect them to also demonstrate that at school,” the parent said. “Improper use of a phone should follow the same violations as any of the other punishments that the school board has already outlined.”
Some parents believe the punishment should follow that of many other infractions: first offense should be a verbal warning, second offense should be detention and a letter sent home to the parent and third offense should be suspension.
Nolin hasn’t yet made up his mind on what to recommend to the board of education on a possible change to the policy.
“I’m still thinking about it,” Nolin said. “I have shared the responses with the board last week so they gather their own thoughts. We will discuss it at the next board meeting this month.”
