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Kids and cell phones are hard to keep apart, but what about in the classroom? Educators today talked about making rules over electronic devices in school during the monthly meeting of the State Board of Education.
One district may ban all electronic devices from school property. But Carol Lear, Utah Office of Education director for school law and legislation, says others may want something less restrictive in place.
"There could be some smaller charter schools or rural schools that really want to be deferential to parents and say, ‘You can contact your child any time, any place,'" Lear explained.
Lear presented an example of both a restrictive and a more lenient policy that could be used as guidelines for the schools that do not yet have rules written down. They must do so by April 1. [To view the restrictive and permissive models Lear presented, click the related links to the right of this story]
Lear said she also thought the action would address some lawmakers' concerns.
She says 12 of Utah's districts already have policies, and the next step for most is to have rules for teachers and employees and electronic devices.
E-mail: mrichards@ksl.com
