FILE:  JCDAE

Cf:  JD

ELECTRONIC TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICES

No student, unless authorized by the school principal or his/her designee, shall use or operate any electronic telecommunication device, including any facsimile system, radio paging service, mobile telephone service, intercom, or electro-mechanical paging system in any elementary or secondary school building, or on the grounds thereof during the instructional day.  Use during school bus transportation is allowed only at the discretion of the bus driver.  Transportation use that creates disturbances, distractions, or otherwise causes an unsafe environment (music, loud sounds, phone calls, taking pictures or videos in route) is strictly prohibited.  Such prohibition shall not apply to after-school functions or events when the coach, sponsor, or other school employee in charge of the event authorizes the use of such devices.

No student shall possess, on his/her person, an electronic telecommunication device throughout the instructional day defined as the time the student enters the building for the start of school and exits after the final dismissal bell.  If a student brings an electronic telecommunication device in any public elementary or secondary school building or on the grounds thereof during an instructional day, the electronic device shall either be turned off and properly stowed away for the duration of the instructional day or prohibited from being turned on and used during the instructional day.  Electronic telecommunication devices shall include, but not be limited to, cellular telephones, smart watches, personal computers, laptops, electronic instruments, iPads, iPods, tablet devices, e-readers, or similar devices.

These provisions shall not be applicable to a student whose Individualized Education Program, Individualized Accommodation Plan, Section 504 plan, or Individualized Health Plan requires the student's use of an electronic telecommunication device.

A violation of these provisions may be grounds for disciplinary action, including but not limited to, suspension from school.  Nothing shall prohibit the use and operation by any person, including students, of any electronic telecommunication device in the event of an emergency.  Emergency shall mean an actual or imminent threat to public health or safety which may result in loss of life, injury, or property damage.

For purposes of this policy, the terms use and operation shall mean whenever the electronic telecommunication device is turned on.

VIOLATIONS

Disciplinary action for violations shall be as included in the Student Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook.  Each school principal or his/her designee shall have the authority to impose consequences for violations of the district’s electronic telecommunication device policy.  The consequences include removal of electronic telecommunication device from student for a determined amount of days, removal of electronic telecommunication device from student and locked in a temporary storage container until the end of the school day, community service, in-school suspension, out of school suspension, and/or expulsion.  The consequences progress in severity for continued violations of policy.  The consequences for misuse of an electronic telecommunication device shall apply to students in grades K – 12.

Revised:  August, 2003

Revised:  July, 2019

Revised:  August 12, 2024

Ref:    La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:239, 17:416, 17:416.1

Board minutes, 8-12-24

Sabine Parish School Board