Schools to Maintain Current Cell Phone Policy

Saucon Valley students will continue to be required to keep their cell phones in their lockers during school hours next school year.

On May 7, the Saucon Valley School Board voted 6-2 (school board member Sharon Stack was absent) to approve the 2012-2013 handbooks which contain the cell phone policy.

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"One of the points, as a parent, of having my child have a cell phone is if there is an emergency my child has access to communicate with me," she said.

Although Lum does not agree with keeping cell phones in lockers, she does support students being required to turn them off during the school day.

"I agree that kids shouldn't have cell phones on during school hours," she said. "They should not be required to keep (their cell phones) in their lockers. They should be keep it off, but they can have it on their person."

Lum questioned Assistant Principal Lorie Gamble about the policy. Gamble said the high school has been finding that cell phones have been creating disruptions within classrooms.

Gamble said some of the disruptions include students texting each other to meet up at the restrooms and sending questionable pictures.

Gamble also stated that students are generally not disciplined for having a cell phone on them unless they are seen using it. She said the school does not search its students for cell phones.

Lum said she understands that phones can be a distraction if not turned off, but said she has concerns about what would happen if there were a major emergency, such as a school lockdown.

Gamble told Lum that she had experienced an emergency situation in another school district in which students using cell phones became more of a hindrance than help during the situation.

Board member Ralph Puerta questioned the school administrators about the other ways students can contact parents in case of an emergency.

and high school students are allowed to use classroom telephones, the telephones in the main office, or in some instances, students are allowed to retrieve their cell phones from their lockers and use them.

In addition to the cell phone rule, Lum also disagrees with the mandatory use of student identification cards.

"If we want to invest in safety, let's do it to the facility itself," she said.

Superintendent Dr. Sandra Fellin said she is meeting with some high school and middle school students in June and will discuss their opinions on this matter. She said she would also like to talk with the administration and bring her findings back to the board in July.

Another approved tweak to the handbooks is the wording about families taking vacation during the PSSA test.

The handbook will now state that the district "respectfully requests" that families not take vacations during this time, although students will not be penalized if they do.