Cell Phone Policy (Effective 1/7/2020):

• From the board approved student code of conduct

Authorized Uses of Cell Phones and Electronic Devices:

The District has determined that the following uses of cell phones or electronic devices by student may be appropriate:

• a. Appropriate use of cell phones and electronic devices as specifically authorized by a teacher (students are currently not authorized to use phones in class for any purpose other than points c-e as outlined below) for the purpose of assisting in an educational process. A teacher’s authorization to use a cell phone or electronic device is considered to cease upon notification by the teacher, a student’s completion of the specifically authorized task, or a student’s dismissal from the classroom, whichever occurs first.
• b. Appropriate use of cell phones and electronic devices before the beginning or after the end of the instructional school day, provided the student is not on a school bus or other form of school-sponsored transportation.
• c. Communications with a student’s immediate family members in the event of a District-wide or schoolwide emergency as defined by the building administrator.
• d. Communications with a student’s immediate family members authorized by a building staff member and that take place under the supervision of the authorizing staff member.
• e. Use of cell phones or electronic devices as authorized pursuant to an Individual Education Plan (IEP), a Section 504 Accommodation Plan, or a Health Care/Medical Plan with supportive documentation from the student’s physician.

Unauthorized Uses of Cell Phones and Electronic Devices

Although students are empowered to use cell phones and other electronic devices in specific,

appropriate ways as described above, students are never authorized to use a cell phone or

electronic device for the following purposes:

• a. In violation of any other section of the Student Rights and Responsibilities, including, but not limited to the District’s prohibitions against cheating, posting or distributing materials that disrupt the educational process, intimidation, threatening to injure or harm others, use of profane or abusive language, hazing, bullying, disrupting the school environment, engaging in a disruption on a school bus, and failure to adhere to school culture or directives of school personnel.
• b. To commit a crime, under federal or state law.
• c. To violate another person’s reasonable expectation of privacy by using cell phones or other electronic devices in locker rooms, restrooms, or any other changing areas.
• d. To take photographs, audio recordings, or video recordings of other individuals, including other students, teachers, administrators, staff members, or members of the community without the explicit authorization of all individuals being photographed or recorded.

Corrective Action

Any student who chooses to possess or use a cell phone or electronic device in a matter that does not conform to the appropriate use expectations of this policy may be subject to any of the following:

• a. A verbal reminder of expectations for appropriate use of cell phones and electronic devices and a request that a student modify their cell phone or electronic device use to meet the expectation of this policy.
• b. Confiscation of the cell phone or electronic device by a teacher or administrator and return or the cell phone or electronic device at the end of the class period.
• c. Confiscation of the cell phone or electronic device by a building administrator to be identified and stored in a safe location in the building’s main office until the end of the school day.
• d. Written notification to the student’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian by the building administrator.
• e. Confiscation of the cell phone or electronic device by a building administrator to be identified and stored in a safe location in the building’s main office until the student’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian comes to the school to retrieve the cell phone or electronic device. 
• Until further notice, Garfield will choose to adhere to points C and E above. If a cell phone is confiscated by a staff member, the phone must be provided to an administrator and the administrator will determine to adhere to point C or E. 

Repeated or chronic violations of the cell phone and electronic device acceptable use policy constitute a Level 2Q offense.

Refusal to surrender a cellular phone or electronic device to a teacher or administrator attempting to confiscate it pursuant to this policy constitutes a Level 2I offense.

Responsibility/Liability

Any student who chooses to bring a cellular phone or other electronic device to school shall do

so at his or her own risk and shall be personally responsible for the security of his or her cellular

phone or electronic device. The District and its employees will assume no responsibility or liability for loss, theft, damage or vandalism to a cellular phone or other electronic device brought onto school property, or for the unauthorized use of any such device