The School Committee approved a Personal Electronic Device (PED) Policy that prevents students from using or having access to a device — such as a cell phone or tablet — during the entire school day, including during lunchtime and breaks.
The PED Policy came out of the PED Task Force, which studied the subject and provided a recommended policy to the School Committee. The policy was approved at the May 4 School Committee meeting.
The Policy reads: “The Watertown Public Schools (WPS) personal electronic device (PED) policy aims to improve students’ social/emotional health and development, student engagement in academics, the overall school social climate, and students’ connectedness to the school community.”
The Personal Electronic Device (PED) policy reads, “subject to the exceptions outlined below, students may not access or use any PED for the entire duration of the school day, and PEDs should be off or in silent mode from the first bell of the school day until the end of the day while in the school building.”
The PED Policy included exceptions will be made for students with a disability or medical condition for which a PED is routinely required. The accommodations will be included in the student’s IEP (Individual Education Program), 504 Plan, or health plan, the Policy said. The Policy adds: “The Superintendent may approve other rare and extenuating circumstances in which access is permitted during the school day.”
If parents or caregivers want to reach their student during the school day, the Policy reads, communications must be done through the school’s main office.
The Policy defines a PED as “any personal electronic device utilized to access the internet, wi-fi, cellular telephone signals, or to capture or play images or video, and/or have otherwise interactive features.”
The devices impacted by the policy include, but are not limited to:
● Smartphones
● mobile phones
● Headphones/earbuds
● smartwatches
● Tablets
● Laptops
● gaming devices
The ban extends to field trips, even when they exceed the school day start and end times. In addition, no student shall be required to use a PED for any school activity.
Students will be required to “secure” their cellphones and other PEDs during the school day. The Policy does not specify how the PEDs are stored, and the policy says the methods of securing PEDs may be modified as needed at each level “to achieve the goals of the full-day policy.”
If a teacher or staff member sees a student with a PED, they have “the right to confiscate a student’s PED and turn it into the main office.”
School Committee member Amy Donohue said she thinks it is important that the school administration communicate to all staff at the beginning of the school year that they have the power to confiscate PEDs, so there is no confusion.
The consequences for non-compliance with the policy will be listed in the school handbooks at each level.
School Committee member Lisa Capoccia said that Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office recommends not having suspension as one of the penalties. Superintendent Dede Galdston noted that in her experience, suspensions related to confiscation of devices were not for the confiscation of the phone, “it was what they did when (staff) tried to confiscate the phone.”
The School Committee heard from several parents about the proposed PED Policy during the public forum. The vast majority supported the policy citing reasons such as reducing screen time, that students will be distracted or even cannot resist using their devices, and improved mental health for pupils. Some said that the current effort to block phone access with software is not sufficient. One parent said students need to learn how to manage use of their devices and said high school was a good time to do so.
The State may be passing a similar ban in Massachusetts public schools. State Rep. Steve Owens said that legislation that would require a “bell-to-bell” ban for PEDs has been approved by both the House and the Senate on Beacon Hill.
School Committee Chair Kendra Foley said the Senate passed one version in April, and the House recently passed another version of the bill, which had many differences, but both versions had a bell-to-bell ban on PEDs.
“The House and Senate are going to conference that, and so we’ll see what the timing looks like, but that was almost the only thing that they agreed on,” Foley said. “So I expect that to happen, and this policy as it is written, even with the with the edits we’ve talked about tonight, do keep us in line with what I expect will be a law in the next year or so.”
City Council President Mark Sideris said he was conflicted about the ban at the high school level.
“One of our student advisors at the last meeting was concerned that we should be treating some of the older kids as adults,” he said. “So I had a little hesitation, but I’m more comfortable tonight saying that it’s coming no matter what, so we’re all going to have to abide by it.”
School Committee member Rachel Kay noted that Owens said that if the bill is not approved by both houses and signed by the governor by July 31, it will die.
“I appreciated him sort of clarifying that either there will be a policy passed by July 31 or there will be nothing. And I think that’s all the more reason for us to move forward,” Kay said. “One because we’re almost done, but two, because I think it’s, you know, there is the possibility that they will have no policy, in which case we definitely want to have at least something on the books.”
The vote to approve the policy was unanimous.
School Committee member Sheila Krishnan said she appreciated the work of the PED Task Force, and the input from the public. She said that helped create a policy “that reflects our community’s values.”