ANKENY, Iowa — The Ankeny Community School District is considering cell phone restrictions for students.
Superintendent Dr. Erick Pruitt says this would be a district-wide policy for Pre-K through high school. He says the main reason behind it is the distractions cell phones cause at school. Pruitt says Ankeny Community School District is looking to ban cell phone use from the start to the end of the school day. Students could be asked to keep their phones off and in their backpacks during this time.
There are, however, exceptions.
“Those students that have a 504 or health plans or a need of assistive technology would be able to have their cellphones on to be able to assist them," Pruitt explained.
Plus, phone use would be allowed for after-school activities.
“The most prevalent information that I’ve gotten from staff, including our teachers and our school leaders, is they’re taking time away from instruction to have to manage some of the issues that are borne about because of cell phones being in the classrooms," Pruitt said.
One of the issues that comes out of student cell phone use is bullying. Pruitt says Ankeny middle and high schools have seen a big increase in bullying over social media.
Plus, Ankeny schools have experienced social media threats of violence against the district, according to Pruitt. While these have been unsubstantiated and are not prevalent, Pruitt says there’s a lot of fear surrounding these incidents.
“Parents see what goes on nationally and then, in recent months, the district Perry that experience that shooting, it has our parents concerned about ensuring that their children are safe," he said.
If the school board votes to pass this policy in its second meeting in September, Pruitt says it will take effect in late October, after fall break. Pruitt tells Local 5 that the district has been collecting feedback from staff, students, and teachers through surveys and meetings.
For instance, Pruitt says the board hosted a series of public meetings in which they talked about the potential impact of technology on students. The meetings were based on a book the board has been studying. Pruitt says that parents, principals, teachers, and even retired educators participated. Parents were able to voice their feelings on the impact of technology at home and at schools. Pruitt says school officials wanted to get the community talking about the issue before the board makes a final policy decision.
There are multiple board meetings left to voice your opinion. It could influence the policy. For instance, the board will have a public discussion on any changes people might want for the policy during their first September board meeting.