Cell phones
Texas House Bill 1481 passed this legislative session, requiring all school systems to adopt and implement a policy prohibiting the use of personal communication devices by students on school property during the school day.
The law took effect on June 20, with school systems having until Sept. 18 to have a written policy in place.
What does the law specifically require?
Students cannot use personal communication devices on school property during the school day. This includes:
•Cell phones
•Tablets
•Smartwatches
•Laptops (not district-assigned)
•Airpods/headphones
•Smart glasses
Districts can either prohibit students from bringing devices to campus or designate a method to “securely store the devices during the school day,” according to the Texas Education Agency.
School districts across the state are handling this in different ways. While neighboring districts like Plano ISD require students to put phones in their backpacks during the school day, Richardson ISD is taking on different approaches, with some using Yondr pouches and some being required to turn off devices and put them in their backpack.
What are Yondr pouches?
Richardson ISD started using Yondr pouches at select campuses in 2022, with eight campuses now utilizing the program, including Berkner High School and STEM Academy, Lake Highlands High School, Pearce High School, Richardson High School, Apollo High School, Liberty High School, Forest Meadow Middle School and Lake Highlands Middle School.
Each student is assigned a pouch, which locks when their phone is placed in it at the beginning of the school day. At the end of the day, students have access to a magnetic device to unlock the pouches.
Students at all other schools are required to turn off their devices before the beginning of the school day and store them in their backpacks.
What happens if students are caught on their phones?
The bill provides specific requirements for discipline. After the first offense, a parent/guardian can pick up the device without a fee, followed by a $5 increase in fee for additional offenses (no more than $15). After the second time, students can be sent to Disciplinary Alternative Education Placement.
Ten Commandments
Senate Bill 10 was passed this legislative session, requiring all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
While the bill is currently being challenged in court by the ACLU of Texas on behalf of several families and school systems, school districts that did not join in on the injunction, including Richardson ISD and Dallas ISD, must comply. Those that did, including Austin ISD, Houston ISD and Plano ISD, are not required to comply while litigation is pending.
However, the Next Generation Action Network Legal Advocacy Fund filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas alleging that the law violates the students’ First Amendment rights, listing Dallas, DeSoto and Lancaster school districts as defendants.
What does the law specifically require?
Every public school classroom is required to have a display of the Ten Commandments in either a durable poster or a frame that is:
In a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom
At least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall
Written with the specific words/version specified in the bill (King James Version)
The new educational code does not require all districts to purchase said posters. If posters that fit the requirements are purchased or donated, however, districts are required to accept them and put them up in classrooms, with no exceptions.
Library Materials
Senate Bill 13, effective Sept. 1, amended the educational code to require schools to provide parental access to the catalog of available library materials at each school library in the district or school, allow said parent to create a list of materials their child is not permitted to check out and provide access to a list of materials that said child has checked out.
The school board must also approve all materials donated or procured by the school library,
The bill also required the board of trustees of each school district to establish a school library advisory council if 10% of the parents of the students enrolled in the district or at least 50 total parents petition the school board for the creation of such a council.
Richardson ISD voted to create the council during the August board meeting. Applications for positions on the council closed on Sept. 5, and appointees will likely be announced in the coming weeks.
