Pearland and Alvin ISDs are among school districts making policy changes to comply with a new state law banning students’ use of personal devices.
HB 1481 requires school districts to develop a plan to implement a school-day ban on use of cellphones, smart watches, earbuds, tablets and other personal devices.
In both districts, students may have devices with them, but they must be turned off and stored away.
In an email to parents this week, Alvin ISD said the expectations are simple: “Not seen. Not Heard. Not Taken,” and reminds students that phones cannot be used in hallways or during lunch period.
Pearland ISD Trustees on July 22 approved a similar policy banning use of personal devices during the school day — which is from the first bell to start class to dismissal.
“If you’re riding the bus or it’s before school and you’re in the cafeteria, or it’s afterschool and you’re walking to the car and happen to still be on campus, those are allowable times,” Superintendent Larry Berger said. “The intent of this bill is that personal devices do not interrupt the school day.”
Alvin ISD’s first-time violators of the ban will have the device taken and returned at the end of the day. Parents must retrieve the devices after the second offense, and the third offense adds a $15 fine.
Pearland ISD students caught with a device out will have the device confiscated, and it can only be retrieved by a parent or guardian.
“The child will not be given the phone to take home,” Berger said. “What I would tell parents is please communicate with your student to not have your phones out and violate the policy — that way it does not get picked up.”
