La Salle-Peru High School will have stricter cellphone guidelines for students during the 2024-2025 school year.

The Board of Education unanimously passed the policy during Wednesday night’s meeting.

Under the new policy, lectronic devices will be allowed in the building. Students may use them before school, at passing periods and during lunch. They must be stored in their assigned school lockers at all other times. Additionally, electronic devices are prohibited in classrooms unless their use is provided in a student’s IEP and/or 504 plan and is allowed during band while Marching Band is in season.

Electronic devices include any personal electronic device capable of accessing the internet, taking pictures/videos, playing music, gaming and/or communicating. Examples include but are not limited to cellphones, smartwatches, earphones/buds, gaming devices, etc.

Superintendent Steven Wrobleski said he believes the cellphone policy the board has adopted is going to be a positive change for the school district.

“As I shared at the community forum, we’re only looking at 17.4% of the amount of time in the entire week,” he said. “And the time that we’re focusing on should be sacred time, as it should be teachers teaching and students learning.”

L-P hosted a forum May 8 to address any questions or concerns about the policy. The board also made some changes to the policy based on feedback from the community prior to Wednesday’s meeting.

The board has been discussing the policy change since December, when Board Member Carol Alcorn said the administration had a plan in place to conduct studies and surveys on different groups; students, staff, parents, business leaders and other schools in the area.

The soon-to-be-retired policy, according to the student handbook, says all cellphones should be turned off and put away before the first class. Teachers can use discretion and allow students to use them for educational purposes. Phones are allowed during passing periods and during lunch times in the cafeteria.

Wrobleski said he was excited for the school to begin the process of moving forward with the next stages of planning and implementation.

“I think this is going to be a difference maker for us as a school district,” he said.

Confiscation procedures

• If a student has an unauthorized electronic device in the classroom or other unauthorized areas, the teacher/staff will request that the student place the device in a plastic bag, which will be sealed and labeled.

• The student signs and dates the bag. The teachers/staff store the confiscated device(s) in a secure, visible location in the room.

• Device(s) are delivered to the school safety office by the teacher or security team member at the end of class.

NOTE: If the student refuses to turn over his/her device, they will be disciplined for gross insubordination and immediately removed from the classroom and sent to the school safety office.

Consequences

First violation: Device confiscation – student collects device from school safety office at the end of the school day.

Second violation: Device confiscation – Parent/guardian must collect the device from the school safety office at the end of the school day.

Third violation: Device confiscation – Parent/guardian collects device, one-day out-of-school suspension, 15-day social probation.

Fourth violation: Device confiscation – Parent/guardian collects device, two-day OSS, 30-day of social probation. The student turns the device into the school safety office for 10 days and collects the device at the end of school day.

Fifth violation: Device confiscation – Parent/guardian collects device, three-day OSS, 30-day social probation, the student turns the device into the school safety office daily for the remainder of the semester and collects the device at the end of the school day.

NOTE: If the student reaches five violations in the first semester, he/she will get a fresh start at the start of the second semester. However, if the student violates the policy, they automatically go to the fifth violation.

The policy will go into effect on the first day of the 2024-25 school year.