By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Beaufort County School District, along with the Student Improvement Council, has reached out to parents, students, staff and members of the community to weigh in on whether cellular phone usage is cause for concern by asking them to fill out a survey by Wednesday, June 5.
The survey states that the school district is “proactively preparing for potential state guidance on the topic as legislators in Columbia are also currently debating the issue.”
According to Superintendent Frank Rodriguez, budget bills have already been passed by the state Senate and House of Representatives that include a provision that would require individual school districts to adopt policies that stop students from using unauthorized electronic devices during school hours.
In the survey, participants are asked to weigh in if they believe schools should be cell phone free or if there should be limitations put on usage and what the negative and positive impacts of allowing cell phones in schools are.
Potentially removing the electronic distractions was originally discussed during the May 7 Beaufort County Board of Education meeting where the board directed Rodriguez to assess potential regulations that would prohibit cellphone use during school hours.
Currently, per the BCSD Student Manual, students are allowed to use “electronic communication devices” on school property, including school buses, while attending school-sponsored activities, or when using the district technology system in accordance with Administrative Regulation.
If a student violates the rule, they could have their device confiscated and a parent would have to pick the device up from the school’s administration.
During the May 21 BOE meeting, Rodriguez revisited the cell phone issue in his address to the Board with a draft of an Administrative Regulation.
Rodriguez told the Board that he wants to put together a committee with subcommittees to investigate this issue as it is not an easy one.
“This is a highly complex matter,” said Rodriguez to the Board. “It’s not simple, and to be honest with you, it’s not something that can be thrown together in two weeks.”
He said that he thinks it needs to not only consider the final outcome regarding cellphones and their usage around instructional time, but it also has to consider enforcement.
Currently, other districts in South Carolina that have taken a stand on usage are Rock hill, who has put a letter on their website stating that there shall be no cell phones and explaining why, and Aiken has a general policy that states that students can use their devices in designated places and during designated times.
Most of the other school districts have remained silent on the matter, according to Rodriguez.
While enforcement is an obstacle, he did list for the Board a few options that are possible tools in enforcing no cellphones in class.
The first is a Yondr Pouch, which is a device that holds and locks cell phones.
The summary provided to the Board states that this option is likely cost prohibitive and easy for students to circumvent.
The second option is for students to put their devices in a hanging pouch on the wall or door, but this presents an issue if the school district is taking possession of the students’ device as they may be liable if the device is stolen or goes missing.
Rodriguez told the Board that the S.C. General Assembly should be dealing with the legislation addressing cellphone usage in the classroom during the month of June, one of the bills banning cell phone usage for the day and one only banning usage during instructional time, and he recommends that Beaufort County wait to make any final decisions until after the legislation is dealt with at the state level.
“This is not a kick the can down the road thing,” Rodriguez said while addressing the Board. “This is, let’s see what comes from the General Assembly ruling or requirement.”
Until then, Rodriguez has suggested that the committee utilize the findings from the parental survey asking for feedback (ending June 5) to help in continuing its research into the issue.
Additionally, the committee has been tasked with researching what other school districts nationwide have done, they will look at the application of consequences for students who violate the administrative regulation and will continue to refine the draft of the administrative regulation.
Rodriguez and members of the Board agreed that they would like to have something in place addressing electronic device use by the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
