Rochester Public Schools Enacting Tougher Cell Phone Policy

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester School Board is being asked to approve expanding a pilot program involving cell phone use districtwide.

The Rochester Public Schools have been working the past several years to address the distractive nature of personal communication devices. During the last school year, the school district used a "red light-greenlight system" that identified specific times during the school day when cell phone use was allowed by students.

A more restrictive pilot program was also implemented in select schools and Superintendent Kent Pekel is now calling for the adoption of the Cell Phone and Personal Device Procedures in all of the Rochester Public Schools. The restrictions cover cell phones, smart watches, earbuds/air pods and other personal electronic devices.

The procedure encourages students not to bring the devices to school, but if they choose to, the devices must remain in the student’s backpack, locker, or in cubbies for the entire school day at the elementary level. At the middle schools, the cell phones and other devices must be left in the student's locker. Smart watches can be worn by students but they will only be allowed to use them for checking the time during the school day.

High school students will be allowed more leeway. The new procedure requires that cell phones and other devices remain in a student’s backpack, locker, or in a classroom collection container during class. The high school students will be allowed to use cell phones between classes and during lunch. Students with an open hour will also be permitted to use their cell phones in select locations in the three high schools.

More restrictive policies will be in place for students attending the Alternative Learning Center and the Phoenix Academy.

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Superintendent Pekel says the new procedures will be accompanied by a three-step system of consequences. He says a first violation will result in a reminder to turn off the phone, which will be taken from the students until the end of the school day.

A second violation would also result in the confiscation of the phone or device for the remainder of the school day. Pekel says it would also involve notifying the student's parent or guardian that another violation will require them to visit the school to pick up the phone and work out a plan to avoid future violations.