BETHEL — The SAD 44 School Board is wrestling with how to update its policy on the use of cell phones in schools.

Directors held a lengthy, informal discussion at last week’s board meeting as they considered the policy, adopted in 2017. School officials said it no longer matches the current practice in the school and needs to be revised. They have been getting input from staff, and the board’s Policy Committee is tasked with eventually making a recommendation.

The written policy currently prohibits cell phone use except when a teacher or principal approves it for “a specific educational, health or safety purpose.”

Supt. Mark Kenney explained that while phones are generally not used at the elementary level and are mostly left in lockers or backpacks at the middle school, the high school now allows limited use at specified times. Those include at breakfast, lunch and during time passing between classes.

In specific classrooms it is up to the teacher, he said, noting some let the students use them as calculators. Typically kids are asked to put them in a storage slot during class.

Overall, any school use is by permission of parents, said Kenney. The goal, he said, is to find the right balance between restricting phones and using them appropriately.

Teaching technology

Telstar High School Principal John Eliot offered more insight into the philosophy of use at the that level.

“Our job is to teach the use of technology appropriately,” he said, and cell phones fall under that.

Kenney added that the schools have heard from employers who say young employees struggle with phone use, and learning to balance it before getting a job is a good skill.

Eliot said he recently attended a meeting of the Maine Principals Association, and he learned only a couple of high schools ban the use of phones. Those schools, he said, had had some problems, with “a lot of office referrals.”

Most principals are hesitant to ban them and, said Eliot, Telstar’s approach “is working here.” He said there is little abuse, and “it’s not getting to the disciplinary level.”

At lunchtime at Telstar, Eliot said, many students play basketball in the gym, and he estimated only about a dozen phones can be seen in use during lunch.

Director Scott Cole of Bethel was skeptical, questioning whether the school is obligated to teach kids the use of smart phones. He saw that as a distinction from the laptop computers students have.

Cole noted the schools have kids seven hours a day, paid for by taxpayers.

“Why introduce anything that could be disruptive?” he asked, potentially undermining the quality of education.

He speculated that with phones nearby in backpacks, students might spend more time wondering what they were missing online than paying attention in class.

Another director mused that having to wait seven hours to check messages might weigh more on students’ minds than being able to check periodically during the day.

Director Stephanie Cayer of Bethel noted kids can also get on social media via their laptops.

A couple of directors said that while they might otherwise personally lean toward a day-long ban, they were inclined to take the recommendation of teachers and staff.

Dave Bartlett of Newry, chairman of the Policy Committee, said that if the teachers don’t think the phone use undermines education, he could go along with limited use.

TMS Principal Lindsay Luetje said some parents want students to have their phones with them at all times so they can reach them, making it difficult to be consistent with the rules.

Greenwood Director Destiny Hughes said that many parents worry if their kids are safe and secure in school as a result of increased levels of school violence in recent years.

“There’s more to it than them just being on social media,” she said.

In response to a question about the frequency of complaints related to online bullying, Luetje and Kenney said most of it happens outside of school. But, said Kenney, “We have to deal with what happens outside. It affects school.”

The Policy Committee planned to take the input of the board members under consideration as they work to craft an updated policy.