By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Hays USD 489 board members have asked for a review and analysis of the school district's cell phone policy for students.
"What's the impact of cell phone usage inside the classrooms?" asked board member Ruth Ruder, who requested the discussion during Monday evening's school board meeting.
Cell phones must be kept in lockers at the middle school. There are no restrictions at the high school level except for what teachers may specify in their classrooms.
"What are the distractions? What about mental health and bullying issues because of cell phone usage?" Ruder asked.
She's talked to several students at the high school level who said they find phones in the classroom and even at lunch distracting.
"I just think it's something we need to look at as a district to protect the kids from every aspect we can," Ruder said.
She asked for input to be gathered from teachers, principals, counselors and students.
Board vice-president Jayme Goetz taught mathematics at Hays High School and required her students' phones to be put in cubby holders during class. But, she said, some students would find a way around that by handing over a fake phone or saying they were grounded and didn't have their phone with them.
Then, there are the parents who text and phone their kids in class. "That's a huge part of it," Goetz said.
She noted that phones can be used as tools in the classroom for educational purposes. "There are benefits [but] young people often don't distinguish between professional and personal use."
Curt Vajnar, board chairman and another former Hays High teacher, said he required his students to leave their phones with him when they went to the restroom. Cyberbullying often occurs in school bathrooms, according to multiple studies.
Derek Yarmer, board member, said he had talked to a Great Bend USD 428 school board member, where a no phones in the classrooms policy was implemented in 2023.
"They had some pushback implementing it but since [then] people have become accustomed to it," Yarmer said. "It's been a good thing."
"It's a complex issue," said Hays High Principal Shawn Henderson, "and the home needs to be part of the conversation. .... This is challenging and we need to do it together."
The high school uses red and green designations for areas where cell phones are allowed or not.
"Any place, any class in our school, at any time can be red or green," Henderson said.
The Kansas Association of School Boards has put together a task force to determine cell phone use guidelines for recommendation to school boards this fall.
"I suggest we wait until November to review those KASB guidelines," Superintendent Ron Wilson said, "and then we can have a good conversation about this."