Stamford School District Announces Cellphone Rules For 2024-2025
STAMFORD, CT — The Stamford Public Schools District announced several changes to its cellphone and electronic device usage policy this week.
Click Here: Chelsea Jersey Sale
“Cellphones and other electronic devices are a distraction for students, and school districts across the country are enacting stronger regulations to limit student access to mobile phones and other devices during the school day,” Superintendent Dr. Tamu Lucero said in a message to families on Tuesday.
The school district adopted a cellphone and electronic device policy in August 2022
Find out what's happening in Stamfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Lucero said the associate superintendents for elementary, middle and high school met with school principals this summer “to review the existing policy, discuss strengthening regulations by level, and develop consistent disciplinary policies for students who do not follow the disrict’s cellphone policy.”
When students go back to class on Aug. 28, the use of cellphones and other electronic devices will be prohibited at the elementary and middle school level “unless directed by the principal.”
Find out what's happening in Stamfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“If your child brings a cell phone, smart watch, or other electronic device to school, it must be silenced and stored in their backpack for the entire school day,” Lucero said. “Parents who need to reach their child during the school day should call the main office.”
Previously, middle school students were able to use their cellphones during lunch breaks.
At the high school level, students must silence and store their devices during instructional time. Classrooms are now equipped with over-the-door storage pockets where students can leave their phones during each class, Lucero said.
Phones and other electronic devices can still be used by high school students during lunch, transitions between classes, and other times students are not receiving instruction.
Students with disabilities or those who require the usage of cellphones or other devices as part of an individualized education program may use them, Lucero noted.
“The idea is really to prioritize student engagement in the building and help to reduce the distractions that cellphones cause,” Interim Associate Superintendent for Middle Schools Matthew Laskowski told Patch. Laskowski has helped work on the protocols for K-8. “Anybody’s brain when they notice that their cellphone pings or vibrates naturally is curious who or what that may be. So part of the protocols are to help students by eliminating that distraction as much as possible.”
Laskowksi said it will be inevitable a student has their phone out when they shouldn’t.
“What we’re looking to do [from K-8] is confiscate the phone from the indicidual, have it delivered or dropped off at themain office, and that student would be able to pick it up upon dismissla at the end of the day.” Laskowski said. “All the principals across the middle schools were in agreement that confiscating and bringing it to the office will help reduce it and send a very clear message about whether phones should be used or not. I think when there were some inconsistencies school to school, or within a school, that creates ocnfusion for students, so we want to promote clarity and cohesion.”
The high schools are expected to used a tiered approach to discpline.
Board of Education policy prohibits the use of cellphones or other devices in certain situations and for specific purposes, including:
School officials previously said this summer they were looking at revamping the cellphone usage policy to improve school climate at Turn of River Middle School.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.