High school students in the may be charged $10 to get a cellphone or 鈥渢elecommunications device鈥� back if it is confiscated during class.
During a meeting Monday, school board members who favor the policy change emphasized stricter regulations to encourage student focus in classrooms.
鈥淲e polled the [Student Advisory Committee] and asked whether or not cellphones were a help or a hindrance during the learning process,鈥� Hays CISD Superintendent Eric Wright said. 鈥淏elieve it or not, the majority of students said it鈥檚 more of a distraction.鈥�
Although personal cellphone use is already prohibited in classes in the district, Wright said high school teachers and principals needed a policy change with 鈥渃onsequences that had a bit more teeth.鈥�
Board member Willie Tenorio Jr. said there were other ways to stop cellphone use in class. "I don鈥檛 think that we have to go 鈥榞ive me money鈥� in order to enforce a stricter cellphone policy,鈥� he said.
, which was approved 5-2, will begin when school starts next week. There will be a three-day grace period for the district to notify students and parents of the policy.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get a lot of heat for this,鈥� said Meridith Keller, school board president. 鈥淲e live in a very different world, but I鈥檓 excited about this new policy.鈥�
