Keller ISD to ban phones on campus: ‘This is a nationwide epidemic with our students.’
The Keller school district is set to ban cell phones on campuses, citing their role in bullying, classroom distractions and illegal activity.
The new policy will require phones to be powered off and in a student’s bag during school hours.
Phones will not be allowed in students’ pockets or on their person, and staff members will confiscate any devices used without permission, officials said Thursday during a Keller school board meeting.
The plan also bars students from having and using Bluetooth devices or headphones at school.
“This is not something new that we just dreamed up here in Keller,” Superintendent Dr. Kelly Johnson said. “This is a nationwide epidemic with our students.”
In a review of the previous year’s disciplinary data, district officials found that most incidents had to do with phone usage, Johnson said.
The superintendent cited examples of students using phones to plan fights, sell drugs and bully other students. They also cause a drain on instructional time when teachers have to be “cell phone police.”
One Keller student spoke out about the proposed changes on social media.
“It’s disappointing that we can’t continue to use phones to our benefit and as a tool while enforcing discipline on people causing distraction and disruption,” the student said in a Facebook comment.
The student also accused the district of “bullying its own students” with a new proposal that would ban the use of nicknames and pronouns that don’t match the student’s birth certificate.
The proposed plan is expected to be approved in the board’s August meeting.
