Saturday, September 7, 2024
AZLE — It’s a new school year with new school rules.
During the July 15 Azle ISD board of trustees meeting, Director of Student Services and Testing Robin Tarpley announced changes and addendums added to the district’s 2024-2025 student handbook and code of conduct. Officials also spoke on priorities for the district this year.
This year’s additions cover a wide variety of topics with safety and technology being a reoccurring theme. The handbook now includes a duty to report for anyone who suspects a child has been neglected. It also describes warning signs for different kinds of abuse.
Academic dishonesty has also been expanded to cover the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence. A section on cybersecurity and online safety has been added to the student handbook that reads as follows.
In accordance with state and federal law, the district will:
Parents of sixth graders who fall into the top 40% of mathematics will now have the option to opt out of advanced mathematics classes instead of being automatically enrolled.
Along with tobacco, e-cigarettes and other nicotine products, nicotine pouches have also been added to the list of prohibited substances. The possession of a nicotine pouch or other nicotine product will count as a general conduct violation. An offense may result in removal from the regular educational setting. Students may also be suspended according to the book.
While Azle ISD’s prior student handbook also prohibited cell phone use in many cases, school officials said the district will be taking extra care to ensure the policy is put into practice this school year.
“We’re not banning cell phones, but we are going to tighten up our cell phone use policy,” Superintendent Todd Smith said. “So, (Azle High School Principal) Mr. Driver is working on that with his high school staff. Azle Junior High already had a pretty strict policy. They pretty much had a zero phone, they only let them get them out at lunch.”
Smith said the district will soon begin releasing more information to parents this fall on the success AJH has had with its policy and how cell phone and earbud use contribute to distractions in the classroom. Tarpley added that while unauthorized phone use will not be permitted in classrooms, the district feels it will not be able to enforce restrictions in school hallways.
“The Azle Junior High shares that after lunch they’ll see an increase in bullying and fights because (students) had a chance to check their phones,” Smith said. “They kind of get all worked back up and (the school will) see an increase in some of the bullying type characteristics, threats and fights and stuff because of what they saw on Snapchat or what they saw on social media.”
Smith said the new expectations around cell phone use leave ample room in regard to the role the devices may play in student safety. Smith recalled feeling safe in school himself prior to the invention of cell phones.
The debate around cell phones in school has gone national, with states like Florida, Indiana and Ohio enacting legislative bans on the devices during school hours. On the books, 77% of schools ban cell phones in the classroom according to a National Center for Education Statistics survey. However, this percentage does not reflect the true number of schools that fully enforce these policies, or the number of students who comply with the rule.
Some Azle High School students feel the stricter enforcement casts too wide a net and punishes otherwise harmless or benevolent behaviors.
“I honestly do not agree with the new policy at all,” Reese Jeter, an incoming junior said in a statement to the Tri-County Reporter. “I believe that the kids at school who choose not to do their work and be distracted by their phones are choosing to do so. I do not think the entire school should be punished just because a few people don’t do their work. On top of that, I use my phone as a reward for finishing my work. I try to finish in class so that I can use my phone, and I personally have enough drive to complete work before getting on my phone. So, I really do think the policy is not meant for everyone and the people who choose to not get their work done should be punished by grades, and everyone else should not be punished by getting their phones taken.”
Another incoming junior, Mariposa Montes, described being able to complete assignments and notes more effectively while using her phone for background noise.
“They could also come up with some sort of compromise if they really wanted to,” Montes said. “Like, have your phone in a pouch or something but once you turn in your assignment for the day you can get your phone again as long as you don’t distract others. Though that would mean no background show while I do notes, air pods could still play music without having the temptation to check a phone.”
The current rule on phones says students may have their phones on them but must leave them turned off during the instructional day unless they are being used for approved instructional purposes. If students are found using cell phones without prior permission, teachers may collect the devices and turn them in to the principal’s office. It is up to the principal’s discretion to either return the phone at the end of the day or contact the students’ parents to come pick them up. The Tri-County Reporter reached out to AHS Principal Nate Driver but did not receive a comment by the publication deadline.
