The Carson City School District administration examined common parent questions and frustrations regarding the cell phone bag policy and explained the initiative at a meeting Tuesday at Carson High School.

More than 100 families, including students, parents and school district staff, were in attendance to ask about the new policy announced by CCSD officials on Aug. 6, which requires middle and high school students to store their phones in locked bags beginning when school starts Monday. Parents expressed concerns about their children’s safety, communication and medical care in the event of an emergency or continued school-related engagement during independent work hours.

Principal Dan Carstens said the Yondr bags were chosen to minimize distractions by keeping phones and smart technology devices locked during school hours. Students would keep them until the end of the day. He described a study from another school that tracked the frequency of phone notifications every time a phone, text or social notification rang or buzzed. The number was high, he showed on a slide.

“We need to try harder and make sure our students want to be there (at school),” he said. “When we make a policy or a practice change to get everyone on the same page, sometimes it’s difficult if we don’t have a tool to do it. So this is our tool to do it. Our goal is to get the kids involved, but also to address some of the behaviors during recreation.”

Rodney Wade, CHS assistant principal, said the purpose of the bags is to draw students’ attention to class and improve their engagement, and they have been used successfully at concerts and other social events.

“Everyone is so focused on their screen that they miss the moment,” Wade said.

Some parents have disagreed with stripping students of access to their phones in an emergency, such as during the May 3 lockdown, during which Carson City Sheriff’s officials investigated the campus because of a reported threat from an unconfirmed gun sighting. Parents said Tuesday they were uncomfortable with the school’s communications process, prompting Carstens to say officials would look for ways to improve their response. He said CCSD has conducted several drills since then, including a districtwide drill in the event of a shooting in June. The school has also assigned two staff members, assistant principal Cheryl Macy and special assignment teacher Brenda Ramirez, as primary and secondary contacts to send initial communications through ParentSquare in an emergency, Carstens said.

Messages will be coordinated with district spokesperson Dan Davis, and once safety is assured, students will be allowed access to their phones.

“Every single classroom will have an unlocking station (for the bags),” Carstens said. “We want to make sure we’re sharing the right information. Once the kids are settled in, we’ll send a message to parents’ phones. They can say, ‘I’m in quarantine, yes, I’m safe. As soon as I have more information, I’ll let you know what’s going on.’ Then we’ll put the phones away.”

Velcro bags will be available for students with medical needs, and staff will likely meet with them and their family members to discuss acceptable use on a case-by-case basis, Carstens said.

Other school districts in Nevada and across the country are currently discussing and developing solutions to cell phone use and policies. On Tuesday, the Washoe County School Board considered a partial or complete ban on student cell phone use on campus during its meeting. The Clark County School District had previously called for a similar measure that would require students to store their cell phones in non-locking, signal-blocking bags provided to them in case of emergency. In Clark, bags are optional for students below sixth grade.

Eleanor Woodrum, an 11th-grader at Carson High School, said she supports the intent of the policy but hasn’t noticed a lack of communication or exposure of the policy itself until now. Woodrum said she and some of her classmates were informed in the spring that it would affect students this school year.

“Kids can get distracted by something they write on their paper, but (the school administration) picked the biggest problem,” Woodrum said. “But instead of giving us a notice like, ‘Hey, third offense for holding up your phone – bags, or if your grades drop too much, you have to carry bags,’ this makes sense. … My teacher had a cell phone compartment last year and she did it when she reminded (the students). The cell phone compartments are a good idea.”

Jamie Jenks, another third-year student, said the bags were an interesting idea, but she felt they penalized students who knew how to regulate their own consumption.

“I like it when (devices) are used in the classroom,” she said. “Teachers are using them to get good kids more involved. … It’s sad that it has to come to this. I don’t particularly agree with it.”

Wade said the Carson City School District follows its policy 0546-P regarding student use of electronic devices. This was adopted under Nevada Revised Statute 392.4637 and states, “Students may possess electronic devices provided they do not interfere with the educational program or school operations.”

The policy states that at the high school level, devices “must be turned off or muted and out of sight during class time unless the teacher or site administrator specifically instructs the student otherwise.”

The statement for middle and elementary schools continues: “Electronic devices must be turned off and out of sight during regular school hours. The school administrator will determine the appropriate times for the use of electronic devices before school begins and after school or in connection with extracurricular activities.”

Shauna Wooldridge, dean of students at CHS, said the goal is to end the power struggle between students and teachers over the management of electronic devices in the classroom, which has become more intense.

“We really hope that this ends,” she said. “There will be conflicts and problems and there will be conversations about it. The biggest problem we’ve always had is that teachers are responsible for this and they’re also responsible for teaching and conducting all of the teaching, and that power struggle has gotten worse over the last few years. … But we don’t want to have those power struggles in our classroom.”