To comply with recently established state laws, the Christian County School Board approved stricter regulations concerning cell phones in class and traceable communication between students and school employees at Thursday’s meeting.
Board members approved a motion to be in alignment with Senate Bills 19 and 181 and House Bill 208. Pupil Personnel Director Melanie Barrett shared how each bill would impact school operations.
SB 19 requires public schools to have a moment of silence each morning that is at least one minute long but does not exceed two minutes. The moment of silence will occur following the pledge of allegiance, Barrett says it’s supposed to give students a chance to pray or mediate.
SB 181 requires all school employees and volunteers to only communicate with students through a traceable forum selected by the board. Noncompliance with the law can result in legal consequences.
However, parents and guardians can sign off on a consent form allowing their student to communicate with a school employee via a non-traceable device.
Board Attorney Jack Lackey says the violations come with serious consequences and the law also extends to communications between school employees and students that are unrelated to school.
The board approved Parent Square, Canvas, the Google Suite, Schools PLP, HMH Into Reading, Mastery Prep, Major Clarity and Digital Driven Learning as traceable communication systems that can be used.
Board members were not fond of the new communication regulation. Board Chair Tom Bell calls it a typical unfunded mandate where they are required to enforce something but don’t receive the funding in order to do so and risk being hit with violations for noncompliance. Superintendent Chris Bentzel calls the regulation unexpected and says legislators did not contact them concerning it.
Then HB 208 prohibits students from having telecommunication devices in classrooms and ensures that district computers have website filters. Barret says students are only allowed to maintain their personal electronics if a teacher allows it for a specific reason or if the student has a disability that requires them to keep it on their person.
Barrett says elementary school students will be required to keep devices in their backpacks, cubbies or lockers; middle schoolers will keep their devices in lockers or locked cabinets and high schoolers will keep their phones in Yondr pouches.
In the morning high school students will place their phones in locked pouches that can only be opened at the end of the day. The new regulations will be implemented by the beginning of the academic year.
Thursday also marked the final meeting for the student board representatives who graduated in May. Christian County High School Representative Aniyah Lewis says it was an honor to be a part of the board and thanks the district for setting her up for success.
Lewis and Hopkinsville High School Representative Mollie Goode were recognized for their work and received gifts.