EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 will introduce new policies regarding IDs and cell phones for the 2024–2025 school year.
“This year, we’re going to be tightening the focus in two areas of our handbook at all of our schools, but especially our secondary schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Patrick Shelton during the Board of Education regular meeting on July 29, 2024.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Starting on the first day of school, students must wear IDs at all times in District #7 schools. Elementary students will keep their IDs at school, while secondary school students will take them home every night. Elementary students will also receive a temporary ID to use as a library card.
If middle school and high school students forget their IDs, they will be issued a temporary ID to wear during the school day. Shelton said there will be a “progression of consequences” if students consistently forget their IDs.
“There’s also the delineation of, ‘I forgot my ID,’ versus, ‘I’m refusing to wear my ID,’” Shelton added. “Those are two separate kinds of behaviors. Forgetting, we can work through. Refusing is a different conversation.”
In addition to new policies regarding IDs, there are now stricter consequences for using cell phones during instructional periods. These changes come after the Board voted to submit a proposal to the Illinois Association of School Boards Resolution Committee about cell phone use in schools.
“We’re also looking at cell phones and making sure cell phones are not interrupting the instructional environment,” Shelton said. “That includes any wearable technology that you can use. So that includes Apple watches, AirPods. You can have those things on, you can have those things with you, but you can’t use them during instructional periods.”
Middle school students are expected to keep their phones in their lockers, while high school students are not allowed to have their phones out during class. If middle school students are caught with their cell phone, the phone will be confiscated for the rest of the day. High schoolers will lose their phone for the remainder of the instructional period.
If high schoolers commit a second offense, they will have to pick up their phone from the office after the school day. A third offense will result in a parent meeting, and a fourth offense means that the student has lost their phone privileges and must check in their phone in the office every morning.
You can view the full 2024–2025 Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 student handbook here.
More like this:
