School Committee Approves New Cell Phone, Personal Electronic Device Policy

By Michael Coughlin Jr.

In what was, at times, a heated discussion that lasted almost an hour, the Revere School Committee approved a new Student Cell phones and Personal Electronic Devices Policy during its regular meeting on August 15.

A draft of the policy found in the agenda packet for the August 15 meeting outlines in part that with this new policy, “Cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off and kept out of sight during class time and at other times as directed by school staff,” and “Earbuds and headphones may not be used at anytime during school hours.”

It should be noted that high school students will be able to use their phones and headphones during lunch; however, middle and elementary students will not, which is consistent with previous policy.

Additionally, the draft policy found in the agenda packet states, “The search of cell phones and other electronic devices for pictures, text messages, video, audio, or uploaded/downloaded material in connection with an investigation regarding an alleged violation of school rules or illegal conduct is permissible if the search is reasonable in its inception and justified in its scope.”

The policy also identifies that violations would be met with progressive discipline, which includes losing the privilege of having a phone or electronic device at school for multiple offenses.

“There are academic issues that we are never going to be able to fix if our students keep continuing to sit on cell phones,” said Stacey Bronsdon-Rizzo, Vice-Chair of the committee. 

Another Committee Member, Aisha Milbury-Ellis, commented on the old policy that she indicated was for cell phones not to be used during the school day and put away in backpacks.

“We’re finding that that policy is not being enforced at all, and we are left with what we’re dealing with today,” said Milbury-Ellis.

She also identified the need for the policy’s language to be stronger and that the new policy takes away discretion from teachers to allow or not allow cell phone use in class.

“My opinion is that the risk far outweigh the benefit of having access to your cell phone or using your cell phone during the day,” said Milbury-Ellis. She identified some of the challenges cell phone use has been causing students, such as disruptions and effects on their mental health.

Bronsdon-Rizzo also mentioned that there had been discussions about putting together a parent workshop and having speakers talk about student cell phone use.

While Superintendent of Schools Dianne Kelly said she agreed that cell phones are “bad for kids” and that something needed to be done about the situation, she was of the opinion that the policy was “very, very restrictive.”

“I worry that we are setting teachers, administrators, students up for a struggle around cell phones,” said Kelly.

Kelly also pointed out that she thought parents and high school students needed to be involved in the conversation so the community as a whole could come together to formulate a policy that everyone could buy into.

Committee Member Jacqueline Monterroso was also of the mindset that families and students should be involved in this process and made a few suggestions, including giving discretion for teachers to allow phones or headphones in class for educational uses.

As for Committee Member Carol Tye, she did not favor the policy and spoke out against it, calling it “overly restrictive.”

As the meeting continued, the temperature seemed to heat up as Milbury-Ellis responded to many of her peers’ comments about the policy.

At one point, in comments that seemed directed toward Kelly, Milbury-Ellis said, “You’ve had all of this opportunity to come up with these ideas that you now want to spend the time — to take up time — to come up with ideas on how to come up with something that works for everyone, but you’ve had all this opportunity, and its landed us in the position that we’re in now.”

“There’s abuse of cell phones in school — we’re seeing it,” she added. To which Kelly asked what opportunity she had before Milbury-Ellis continued, stating, “We’ve brought it up, but you’ve had the opportunity on your own to recognize problems that are happening within the schools and to rectify them.”

Shortly after the heated exchange, Committee Member Michael Ferrante gave his two cents on the topic, identifying that the school committee had to start somewhere on a policy and that it could always be amended.

Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe also spoke about the policy, indicating that he thought there should be more discussion about the topic but that the policy was on the right track, among other comments.

After Keefe’s comments, the meeting seemed to spiral into confusion in that there were many motions made, some to hold a vote and approve the policy, others not to have a vote, and to schedule a meeting with the community as soon as possible. There were even motions to amend the policy, and at times, there seemed to be general confusion about the policy itself.

It reached a point where Keefe made a statement acknowledging how confusing the meeting had become.

“If anyone’s watching tonight, we’re making it even more confusing to the public because we’re confused, and I don’t think we can leave this room with a policy that we are this confused about,” said Keefe.

“We can’t leave this room the way we’re talking right now. We’re going to make it worse,” he later added. 

Yet even with Keefe’s comments about the confusion that overtook this meeting, a vote was held to approve the policy with an amendment to allow the use of phones at lunch.

As the committee was getting ready to vote, Kelly went on record saying, “I think this is a mistake,” and Tye agreed, calling it a “huge mistake.” Ultimately, the new policy was approved by a vote of 4-3.

While the new policy was approved, there are plans for a community meeting to discuss the policy and take in feedback from students and families on Wednesday, September 20, at 5:30 p.m. in the Revere High School Learning Commons.

While the final language for the policy is still being developed, you can view the draft policy on pages 28 and 29 in the meeting agenda packet at http://reverema.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=3881&Inline=True.

Additionally, if you would like to watch the discussion about the policy in its entirety, you can visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxk7jye95vw&ab_channel=RevereSchoolCommittee. The discussion begins at 1:13:00.