New cell phone, tardy and MP3 player policies are in place for this year, including revised penalties for rule breaking and a new truant policy.
Cell phones must now be turned off during all school hours, according to the policies.
Students are, however, entitled to use phones before school, during lunch and after school.
The policy also states that phones out during the school day will be confiscated and students are to be assigned up to two hours of after school retention, depending on the number of offenses.
After the second offense, students will have their phones taken and may receive suspension, the policy states.
Principal John Kellogg said the new policies were a compilation of staff ideas discussed at a meeting in June in which teachers reviewed school management policies.
Kellogg said that the new policy makes the students responsible for their actions.
Sophomore David Hahn partially agrees with Kellogg.
“I think that people should be able to have their phones on during the day, as long as they are responsible about it,” Hahn said.
However, Kellogg isn’t just turning a blind eye to students’ needs.
“I recognize kids have a need to communicate, as well,” Kellogg said.
However, some, such as junior Adam Gray, still see holes in the policy and don’t agree.
“I don’t know why students need to turn off their cell phones,” Gray said. “If they just put it on silent, it shouldn’t matter.”
Senior Emma Sullivan, on the other hand, is fine with the new policy.
“I don’t really understand why people want their cell phones on anyway,” Sullivan said. “I’m surprised this wasn’t enforced sooner.”
As for MP3 players, usage is at the discretion of teachers in the classroom, although study hall usage is fine, Kellogg said.
The policy states that offenders will have the device taken away and will be given two hours of ASR for a second offense.
Suspension is a possibility for third time offenses.
Along with new consequences, MP3 players are now prohibited in the hallways.
Kellogg said that there are appropriate times to use these devices and that the new policy is part safety and security, part etiquette.
Junior Dakota Taynor disagrees about the issue of safety.
“[MP3 players don’t] cause any problems and [are] merely a way of escaping the franticness of the hallways,” Taynor said.
Sullivan agrees.
“I don’t think it’s fair that we can’t listen to music in the hallways,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes I like to listen to music in the hall before a test to relax or just if I’m having a bad day. I don’t understand what the problem is.”
Gray takes a practical view.
“I don’t know,” Gray said. “If you can’t hear the fire alarm when you have your headphones on, you probably can’t hear, period. It’s not like those are quiet sirens.”
The final new policy this year deals with truancy and tardies.
The policy defines truancy as arriving to school or class more than 10 minutes late without an appropriate note.
This is different from being tardy, which is defined as students arriving to school or back from lunch less than 10 minutes late.
Each semester, students are allowed up to four tardy warnings before they are assigned an ASR, and upon reaching the seventh offense, they are suspended, the policy states.
Truancy consequences range from one warning to up to two hours of ASR or suspension.
Freshman Gabby Goldach believes these new punishments are a little harsh.
“Many of the reasons that you are late to school or classes are because of little things that didn’t happen on purpose, like if you didn’t hear your alarm go off or something like that,” Goldach said. “It happens to everyone.”