R-8 Board moves closer to new cell phone policy

A final decision on a new policy that would forbid the use of cell phones in Joplin schools will be made one day before the 2007-2008 school year begins. The board passed the new policy on first reading Tuesday night:

Under the policy, all personal electronic devices would have to be turned off from the beginning of the school day until the end.

Though the policy includes MP3 players, digital voice recorders, digital cameras, portable gaming systems, pagers and other gadgets, board members mainly discussed cell phones.

Assistant Superintendent Steve Doerr said the policy was worded so that officials at each school building could decide what works best.

"We wanted to give building administrators the flexibility to decide what's best for them," Doerr said. "Older students can be given a little bit of freedom."

Doerr said middle schools may prefer to ban operation of the devices while students are in a school building, while the high school would enforce the policy from the first bell to the last.