Smithtown parents speak out against plan to remove cellphones from middle school classrooms
Members of the school board and district administrators did not comment on parents’ concerns at a school board meeting Tuesday night.
Share:
More Stories
2:04
East Orange schools under fire for late financial disclosure to state
19h ago1:59
William Floyd School Board holds emergency closed door meeting following student gun arrest
yesterday1:33
Officials: 3 teens charged in hazing incident at James Madison HS; JV football season suspended
yesterday0:35
Officials: 2 New Jersey schools put into lockdown for ‘hoax’ incidents
yesterday1:43
Connecticut has a shortage of paraeducators. Now the state is expanding incentives to keep them
yesterday0:36
Middletown schools: Grief counseling available all weekend in aftermath of 9th grader's death
3ds ago2:04
East Orange schools under fire for late financial disclosure to state
19h ago1:59
William Floyd School Board holds emergency closed door meeting following student gun arrest
yesterday1:33
Officials: 3 teens charged in hazing incident at James Madison HS; JV football season suspended
yesterday0:35
Officials: 2 New Jersey schools put into lockdown for ‘hoax’ incidents
yesterday1:43
Connecticut has a shortage of paraeducators. Now the state is expanding incentives to keep them
yesterday0:36
Middletown schools: Grief counseling available all weekend in aftermath of 9th grader's death
3ds agoParents in the Smithtown School District spoke against a plan to use high-tech pouches to keep middle school students from using their cellphones.
The phones are turned off and placed inside the pouch at the start of the school day. The students then close and secure the pouch, keeping it with them. When students leave school, they touch their pouch to a base to get their phone back.
The cost to implement the program in the district’s middle schools is $66,770 for the 2024-2025 school year.
Some parents say the cost is too high, and they want to be able to contact their children in case of an emergency.
Members of the school board and district administrators did not comment on parents’ concerns at a school board meeting Tuesday night.
An information sheet provided by the school district says, “Students have demonstrated time and time again that they will not comply with simply putting their phones away.”
The pouches are only being used in middle schools for now. An expansion of the program would depend on its success at the middle school level.
In the case of an emergency, communication with parents would happen through the school district’s mass notification tools.
More from News 12
2:05
Street vendors, advocates speak out against Prop 2 to expand city authority to remove vendors
2:13
Bronx man says he has to rely on food cart business because rats forced closure of his deli
1:43
Bronx vendors hope for business boom, residents brace for crowds ahead of World Series
1:33
Exclusive: Williamsburg man says man attacked him with a hammer on F train
0:46
Jersey Proud: Marlboro-based moving company collects donations for hurricane victims
1:55
