Personal Electronic Device Policy

This policy will help improve the educational environment for all of our students in all of our schools. We’re working to reduce distractions in the classroom so that our students will be more engaged with their classmates and teachers and flourish in our schools.

Creating a cell-phone and distraction free environment has been a focus in our secondary classrooms for some time. Some of our schools have already implemented ‘off and away’ policies. What is new is that Governor Tina Kotek’s executive order, 25-09, titled ‘Personal Electronic Device Policy for School Districts,’ now requires all districts in the state to adopt a consistent, districtwide policy limiting personal electronic devices by students bell-to-bell. This policy will also be in place throughout our elementary schools.

If you need to contact your student during the school day, we ask that you call your child’s school in the event of an emergency.

Exemptions that would allow a student to use their phones during the school day would require the following types of documentation: medical, 504, IEP, or an extenuating circumstance approved by school administration. All exemptions require appropriate documentation approved by school administration.

This policy applies to all personal electronic devices that are portable and an electrically powered device that is capable of making and receiving calls and text messages and accessing the internet independently from the school’s network. This does not include a laptop computer or other device required to support academic activities, like a Google Chromebook distributed by the school.

Cell phones and other personal electronic devices should be off and away from the start of the school day to the end of the school day. Our schools will set and communicate clear expectations around arrival, passing periods, and end-of-day routines.

No. Phones must remain put away during the entire school day. This includes non-instructional time like lunch or other breaks.