At the June 17th Board of Education meeting, our school board members reviewed a proposed district-wide cell phone policy in response to Senate Bill 208, passed during the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly. This legislation requires all local boards of education to adopt a policy that, at a minimum, bans student cell phone use during instructional time and/or restricts usage throughout the entire school day.

While this policy is a statewide requirement, our school board believes it is an opportunity to positively impact our students academically and socially.

Our goal is to create learning environments that allow students to focus, stay engaged, and build meaningful connections with their classmates and teachers. By limiting distractions from personal devices, we believe students will be better positioned to improve academic performance, participate actively in class, and develop stronger interpersonal skills.

Here are the main parts of the proposed policy:

• Cell phones must be off and out of sight during the instructional day.
  
• Smartwatches, smartglasses, earbuds, and headphones fall under the same expectations as cell phones and may not be used during the instructional day.
  
• If students do not follow the “off and out of sight” expectation, school-level consequences may result.

Over the next few weeks, each BCS school will work with its Site-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council to decide how this policy will work at their school. More information will be shared with you by your child’s school and in each school’s student handbook for the 2025–26 school year.

The school board will have a second reading and final vote on this policy at the July 15 Board of Education meeting.

We know that cell phones are part of our daily lives, but setting limits at school will help students do their best. We appreciate your support as we help our students unplug, stay focused, and make the most of their time at school.