Connecticut school districts interested in addressing the impact of personal technology use and social media on students in the classroom now have a decision-making framework provided by the State Department of Education.
On August 21, 2024, the Connecticut State Board of Education adopted its Position Statement and Policy Guidance for Personal Technology Use in Connecticut Schools. During his State of the State Address, Governor Lamont originally recommended the State Department of Education develop model cellphone policies for districts. The Governor also proposed legislation requiring the Department of Education to adopt model cellphone use policies for schools, but that proposal did not make it beyond the Senate. However, the State Department of Education and the State Board of Education still embraced the Governor’s request to develop decision-making guidance. The Position Statement provides the reasoning and procedure behind the Board’s decision to adopt the Policy Guidance. The Policy Guidance comprises the Board’s recommendations for districts when considering these policies.
What Do the Position Statement and Policy Guidance Require of Districts?
There is no set timeline or deadline to adopt, develop, and implement a policy. The decision to adopt, develop, and implement a cellphone policy lies with each district. The Position Statement and Policy Guidance simply encourage Connecticut districts to develop their own policies through their own procedures.
What Should Districts Consider when Developing these Policies?
The Policy Guidance recommends that if districts choose to implement a cellphone policy, they consider what makes their district different and how to elicit and engage stakeholder feedback. First, for districts deciding to address personal technology and social media in schools, the State Board of Education recommends adaptable policies that alleviate the root concerns of negative technology use in schools. Districts should “develop and enact a districtwide Personal Technology Use in Schools policy inclusive of cell phones and current and emerging technologies.” Personal technology may include wearable technology like smart watches or smart glasses. When developing these policies, the State Board of Education recommends that districts consider the following: student engagement in learning, student emotional well-being, and how students may strengthen their interpersonal skills, peer interaction, and social communication.
Districts are encouraged to examine how any proposed policy on use of personal electronic devices during the school day implicates other policies affecting students and teacher, such as general code of conduct, discipline policies, acceptable use policy, and athletic code of conduct. Students should be required to abide by an acceptable use policy and know what discipline they face for breaching the district’s policy. Faculty and staff should know how to consistently enforce the policies and what to do with a confiscated device, i.e., chain of custody.
Confiscation of a device sometimes also results in an administrative search of that devise, which implicates another set of legal procedures and safeguards on student privacy that must observed, and these privacy concerns must be addressed within district policies and procedures. Students with IEPs, 504 Plans, or Health Plans may need individual exemptions or modifications of such policies in order to meet their unique needs based on their disabilities as well.
Academically, districts are encouraged to develop grade-level policies that emphasize digital literacy and citizenship so students may appropriately comprehend the reasoning behind the policy, and also learn the rules of good digital citizenship while they are in school. An elementary school policy might promote and maximize academic, social, and emotional development by removing cellphones from the classroom. Middle schools may focus more on mitigation of the negative effects of social media and excessive device use. Finally, high school students may be more developmentally ready to start to engage with their devices responsibly as part of the educational process, and high schools may allow greater access to students as they demonstrate such readiness.
The Policy Guidance recommends districts involve all stakeholders in adoption, development, and implementation of these policies. Stakeholders may include the district’s board members, superintendents, school leaders, teachers, families, students, higher education institutions, and legal counsel.
As districts undertake this process, they should anticipate that one concern from parents and students will be how parents and guardians will be able to communicate with students and vice versa throughout the school day, to address logistical concerns from pick-up and drop-off times to afterschool activities and responsibility. The State Board of Education recommends that districts streamline their communication systems so students and parents can communicate via official channels such as calling the main office, or utilization of technology platforms allowing for instant messaging. As the goal is to allow students to have as much interrupted learning time in school as possible, it is expected that this should result in fewer communications from outside of the school that may unintentionally district students from learning. Anticipating the concern that parents may want a direct line to their children if an emergency arises, districts may include their state-mandated school safety team—and any other professionals with emergency response expertise, like school resource officers and local fire and emergency management personnel—in their policy-development process. Time, effort, and research should be devoted to establishing how these policies will affect student achievement, safety, health, and well-being.
The Policy Guidance cites three existing district policies as examples, and referenced the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (“CABE”) model policy as starting points for districts considering these policies. CABE’s model policy will be revised to reflect the new Policy Guidance.
Our education attorneys are available for consult as school districts begin the process of considering such policies or any other education law issues or concerns. Please contact Marsha Moses at [email protected], Michelle Laubin at [email protected], or Christine Sullivan at [email protected] for assistance.