By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Hays USD 489 board members have requested a review and analysis of the school district’s cell phone policies for students.

“What impact does cell phone use have in classrooms?” asked board member Ruth Ruder, who had requested the discussion during the school board meeting on Monday evening.

In middle school, cell phones must be kept in lockers. In high school, there are no restrictions other than those set by teachers in their classrooms.

“What are the distractions? What about mental health issues and bullying problems due to cell phone use?” Ruder asked.

She has spoken to several high school students who said they find phones in the classroom and even during lunch breaks disruptive.

“I just think we as a district need to take care of this to protect the children in every way possible,” Ruder said.

She asked for the opinions of teachers, principals, counselors and students.

School board vice president Jayme Goetz taught math at Hays High School and required her students to put their cellphones in cubbies during class. But some students, she said, would find a way around this by handing out a fake phone or saying they were grounded and didn’t have their phone with them.

Then there are the parents who reach their children by text or phone during class. “That’s a big part of it,” says Goetz.

She noted that phones can be used as teaching aids for educational purposes. “There are benefits, but young people often do not differentiate between professional and personal use.”

Curt Vajnar, board president and also a former teacher at Hays High, said he required his students to leave their cell phones with him when they went to the bathroom. Several studies have found that cyberbullying often occurs in school bathrooms.

Derek Yarmer, board member, said he spoke with a board member at Great Bend USD 428, which is implementing a policy banning cell phones in classrooms starting in 2023.

“There was some resistance to implementation, but since then people have gotten used to it,” Yarmer said. “It’s a good thing.”

“It’s a complex issue,” said Shawn Henderson, principal of Hays High School, “and parents need to be part of the conversation. … It’s a challenge and we need to tackle it together.”

The high school uses red and green markings to indicate areas where cell phones are and are not allowed.

“Any place, any class in our school can be red or green at any time,” Henderson said.

The Kansas Association of School Boards has assembled a task force to develop cell phone policy and recommend it to school boards in the fall.

“I suggest we wait until November to review the KASB policies,” said Superintendent Ron Wilson, “and then we can have a detailed discussion about it.”