As Princeton ISD prepares for the next school year, it is reviewing policies in its handbooks to make sure they are relevant and up to date.

Trustees debated changes to the student, employee and athletic handbooks during the regular meeting Monday, June 20.

Superintendent Donald McIntyre said the changes to employee and athletic handbooks were minimal, adding that most of the changes made were updating policies and changing verbiage. However, there were a couple of larger changes the district was looking to make with the student handbook pertaining to a “bring your own technology” policy and the dress code.

Trustees unanimously approved the minor changes made to the employee and athletic handbooks.

The “bring your own technology” policy is under review because it is no longer as necessary in as prior years, said McIntyre, because the district has supplied students with technology access at all schools. Under the new policy, students could bring technology, such as a cell phone, but could not use it during an instructional period.

There would be an exception if the phone was used for an educational activity provided a teacher gave permission to do so.

McIntyre said devices used inappropriately during an instructional period would be subject to confiscation. Any devices taken away would have to be picked up by either a student or parent from the school office.

Some districts have also moved to charging students a small fine, said McIntyre, but the policy before trustees would not introduce fines for recovering confiscated devices. He said he also expects some pushback from parents or teachers because of the previous access students have had.

“The majority of our teachers are going to find extreme value in what we are doing here,” McIntyre said. “The way we’ve written the policy, there will be times that students can use their phones, such as passing periods and during lunch.”

For the full story, see the June 23 issue of The Princeton Herald.