By EMILIA TEASDALE
KINDERHOOK—The Ichabod Crane School District held the first of two forums on safe and responsible cell phone use for students on February 13. About 15 people attended the meeting, a mix of adults and students, with Superintendent Marie Digirolamo, High School Principal Craig Shull, Middle School Principal Anthony Marturano and Middle School Assistant Principal Erin Russo in the high school library.
Superintendent Digirolamo said the conversation about cell phone use in the district
started last summer. The district formed a task force that looked at the data, which included looking at the impact of social media on students. The task force also looked at what other districts are doing including visiting local districts in the Capital Region and in Massachusetts.
As the district was reviewing their cell phone usage, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that part of her FY 2026 Executive Budget Proposal is for all schools to adopt a policy
prohibiting the use of internet-enabled devices (smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, etc.) during the school day.
In Governor Hochul’s proposal, according to a press release, schools will have flexibility
to create their own implementation plan and the budget allocates $13.5 million for pouches, cubbies or other storage devices for phones.
As part of the proposal, the governor wants School Boards to create policies that include a method for families to contact students during the school day, and exceptions may be made when necessary to manage a student’s health care, in an emergency, for translation services, and if included in a student’s IEP.
The current Ichabod Crane policy for k through 12th grade says that “electronic devices shall be prohibited from the time students arrive at school until the end of the regular school day, unless specifically permitted to be used by a teacher or administrator. Such
devices must be turned off and stored out of sight during this time period.” Ms. Digirolamo said this is successfully practiced at the middle school.
In the high school, it is a different story.
Students are required to turn off their cell phones at the start of each class and teachers provide a designated holder for devices in the classrooms, which remain stored until class ends. So students can access their devices during lunch and in the hallways between classes. To meet possible state requirements, Ms. Digirolamo said the task force looked at Yondr pouches which each student would carry after magnetically locking their phone in for the day. The pouches and set up to lock the pouches would cost about $20,000 for the high school.
The other option would be for students to leave their phones in their lockers. The feedback from the task force found that so far the “locker solution is working well in the middle school,” with “surprisingly low use in the hall.” But high school students
go to their lockers more than middle students, said Ms. Digirolamo.
There was talk about having a game room for students if they can’t use their phones during study halls and lunch, and maybe more time outside. The superintendent said at one of the schools they visited that is phone-free during the day, they saw an increase in students signing up for elective classes.
The district will also have to make phones available for students to contact their families. Ms. Digirolamo talked about making email available for students to send messages to parents.
She said the task force talked to law enforcement about safety issues and they “want students and adults in a crisis to be alert and paying attention to law enforcement.” They also worried that if students have their phones they could “clog” the 911 system. The Yondr pouches can be cut open in an emergency.
Any system the school uses will have to be enforced with, as the task force presentation said, “progressive consequences” and “consistent implementation by staff” to follow the policy.
During the 2023-24 school year, the total number of referrals involving cell phones was 54 (39 for students having cell phones out in class; 7 for students with cell phones and insubordination or other disruptive behavior; and 8 for students with a more serious incident involving a cell phone like filming a fight, showing a naked picture to another
student, etc.). The referrals involved 44 students with five students getting two referrals, one student with three referrals, and one student with four referrals.
As of December of this school year, the total number of referrals is down to five (four for students having cell phones out in class and one for a student with cell phones and other disruptive behavior) with no repeat offenders. The superintendent pointed out that “the vast majority of the kids are listening” to the rules.
The task force supported continuing to use the locker system in the middle school but more members supported the pouches in the high school.
The students at the meeting spoke up about the reasons they use their phones and pointed out the ways to get around locking them in the pouches. One student said that at the Questar III program they attend off site, most of the students leave their phones in their cars and there are consequences if they bring their phones into the program. A
few mentioned using their phones to communicate with their parents.
One student said they supported locking the phones up to help “develop healthy habits.”
A parent pointed out that the devices are more than just phones now – they are kid’s alarm clocks, calendars and ways to get updates about their schedule. Another resident said the phones are important in an emergency saying that the 911 systems are much better now and phones can be important for safety.
Another parent asked if students in primary school have phones (grades k through 3rd). Superintendent Digirolamo said some do.
She also said that any change to the policy was ultimately up to the Board of Education.
The next meeting about cell phone usage will be March 6 at 6:15 p.m. in
the High School Library. There is information at the www.ichabodcrane.org.
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