WCPSS leaders wrestle with cell phone policy: 'Not about controlling them'

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County School Board met again Tuesday to further discuss how to address cell phones on district campuses. The move comes as Senate Bill 55, which tackles regulating phones on school campuses, works its way through the legislative process.

Currently, district policy makes way for school administrators at each school to enforce a policy that works best for each campus. However, the district is drafting a county-wide policy that falls shy of one-size-fits-all.

Among the changes considered in the draft is the delineation between elementary and middle school students vs. high school students. The board's current framing does not allow for students to have their phones out during the day or in between classes for elementary and middle school children. Meanwhile, at the high school level, students would be permitted to have their cell phones visible during breaks. For all grade cohorts, students would be required to have their cell phones off, on silent, or in airplane mode.

The board also discussed whether the policy would extend to when students are on campus or strictly during the start of the instructional day, such as the first bell, and at the end of the instructional day, as many students have extracurricular activities before and after school. Members decided against formalizing a specific position during Tuesday's meeting.

"We can't just take things away from people who are addicted," said board member Toshiba Rice. "We're going to find ourselves in a rebellious state."

The board also worked to define what is considered a wireless communication device as Senate Bill 55, per board members, leaves open the opportunity for individual discretion.

"It's not about controlling them," said board member Cheryl Caufield. "The whole point of the policy is so that our students aren't distracted."

"There are so many things to think about when using a phone in school. Like the complexities of bullying, of really social pressures. Things like that can come into play too," said Wake County parent Jane Simei. "So just thinking of a parent's perspective from safety that we want to keep our kids safe and be able to reach them. But we also want to keep them safe in a sense where they don't have a bunch of issues of kids sharing inappropriate images that they're not supposed to or accessing things they're not supposed to at school."

In its next steps, the board will meet again April 22 to address revisions made to the current framework.