Recently, new laws have been passed in Indiana, changing some of the guidelines schools must uphold. The biggest of these laws deal with cell phone usage in school, requiring schools to define the specifications of their cell phone policies, also making sure they coincide with the requirements of the new law. However, there are also laws being passed that will have a smaller impact, as they are only revisions or specifications of past laws.
The law being passed ensures that all Indiana schools have a policy that prohibits students from using cell phones during instructional time, unless they are being used for educational purposes, or in the event of an emergency in regards to a student’s healthcare.
For Paoli schools, these laws will prompt adjustments to handbook policies, and according to Principal Ed Wagner, there will be some major changes in effect next school year. While high school students may still use phones during lunch, any use during classroom sessions will be strictly prohibited. Wagner emphasizes the importance of compliance.
“Phones seen in classrooms will be confiscated, and students will face disciplinary consequences for violating state and school guidelines,” said Wagner.
The largest aspect of this change will be the consistency between individual classrooms.
“We have always had a cellphone policy in place here at PHS; however, the interpretation of those rules was not always consistent from class to class. With the new law being passed, we have eliminated that ambiguity, and all classrooms must adhere to the same policy,” said Wagner.
Wagner also recognizes how this change will affect students, as the policy will be much stricter than it has been in years past.
“I know that there are going to be a bunch of students that will still try to sneak it. I know what goes on in the bathroom. I know that you guys go in there and you sneak one in there and you read emails and text messages while you’re in the bathroom. We need to get back to where students and teachers can be who they are, and a student doesn’t need to worry about the student next to them. Even though we already kind of had that policy there in the first place, we will just be a little more restrictive against our cell phone policy. My goal and our goal as a school will be to still allow you guys to have them at lunch, just not during class time,” said Wagner.
While these changes are taking place, other additions and improvements are being made to the handbook, although these changes are nothing too influential, and mainly just specify past policies.
“There will be changes made to our habitual truancy policy, for the kids who are missing a lot of days of school. Normally the kids who miss a lot of school, one of the things about them is they’re not academically eligible. Obviously, if you miss a lot of school, it’s kind of hard to be successful in school. There will also be some minor changes to the dress code. We are gonna make some changes to clarify a little things, and make it a little more specific. There will still be restrictions on certain areas, but other than that, there’s not gonna be a whole lot of change for what we already do,” said Wagner.
While specific details are yet to be finalized, it’s evident that handbook adjustments are on the horizon for the upcoming school year.
