When students in Mansfield ISD return to class on Aug. 16, they will have to keep cell phones and smart watches turned off. The Mansfield ISD school board adopted the rules at a meeting earlier this summer.
“As a board, we believe the new guidelines will limit distractions and disruptions to the learning process, which can frequently be caused by cell phone usage. We want to empower our employees by outlining clear consequences for infractions," Mansfield ISD Board President Courtney Lackey Wilson wrote in a statement.
The rules require kids in kindergarten through sixth grade to keep devices turned off and stored away during the school day. Students in junior high and high school must keep phones, smartwatches, and other devices turned off during class, but their principals will decide whether kids can use them between classes and during lunch.
Students in Mansfield ISD who use a device during class could have it confiscated. After a first offense, the student can pick up the device at the end of school. After a second offense, a student or parent will have to make an appointment to pick up the device and pay $15. Additional offenses include additional $15 fees and punishments like detention and in-school suspensions.
Mansfield ISD said teachers and administrators will walk students through the rules when they return to class.
The ban will not apply to devices provided to students by the district "to be used for educational purposes." Those include iPads for kids in kindergarten and first grade, Chromebooks for second through 12th graders, and laptops for STEM students. Distribution is underway, and information is available here.
Details about Mansfield ISD's electronics guidelines are available on the district website.
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