At the Park Hill Board of Education meeting last week, board members were updated on the new high school personal electronics ban planned for the next school year.
Director of Student Services Dr. Chad Bruton presented the high school personal electronic device task force findings to the Board of Education.
The district implemented a new personal electronic device procedure at the elementary and middle school level for the 2024-25 school year. In short, the district did not allow elementary and middle school students to use personal electronic devices at school this year.
A team of 30 students, parents, staff and administrators spent this school year studying research and best practices related to the use of personal electronic devices at the high school level.
Based on feedback from both the elementary and middle school level and recommendations from the high school task force, Bruton presented how the district will move forward for next school year, starting in August 2025.
For the 2025-26 school year, high school students will not be allowed to use personal electronic devices during class time. This includes the use of cell phones, smart watches, earbuds/headphones, gaming devices, tablets, laptops or other personal devices that connect to the internet and/or have wifi or Bluetooth connectivity. Device usage during passing periods and lunch will be allowed at this point; however the administration is following the Missouri legislative session that is currently working through Senate Bill 68 that could restrict personal electronic devices in the school all day.
In addition to meeting multiple times this year, the task force work included specific feedback from almost 3,000 survey responses from high school students, high school staff and high school families. Driving rationale for this decision included decreasing distractions in the classroom, a focus on student mental health and keeping students safe.
The administration has several recommendations for implementation and storage and will be working through those in the next few months in preparation for August.
Here are the other items they are working on:
Clear expectations for students, families and staff.
How to continue student communication for activities and athletics.
Consistent implementation across all high schools.
The district will communicate through its First Hand all-district e-newsletters in May, June and July, and will work on direct student and family communication for July and August.