The Mid-Prairie School Board is considering a ban on cell phones on campus during the school day.

Currently, Mid-Prairie students can use their cell phones outside of instructional time during the school day, but the school board and administration hope that the change can decrease distractions within the classroom. Superintendent Brian Stone describes the effect of the change, “Basically we’re going into a full ban. The board has really worked hard in this capacity, we’ve gathered data, we’ve done research. Basically what we’re looking at is that when the day starts, the phones will be out of sight, out of mind, and when the day is over the students will be able to have their devices back.”

Members of the school board said at their April 28 meeting that they had received concerns about parents being able to contact their children, especially at the middle school, where students cannot receive emails from out-of-network senders, including parents.

IT Coordinator Jaynie Bontrager discussed the possibility of whitelisting parent emails, but highlighted the security concerns that could pose, including the introduction of viruses into Mid-Prairie’s network. Ultimately, the board was dissuaded from allowing parent emails at the middle school.

The policy passed the board on first reading on April 14 and will return for a second reading on May 12.

The proposed change comes on the heels of a state-level cell phone ban, which was signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds on April 30. The state ban only bans phones during instructional time, similarly to Mid-Prairie’s previous policy. Mid-Prairie is proposing a ban on them throughout the school day both inside and outside the classroom.