After implementing its student cell phone policy in December, the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors announced Tuesday that the district will now have a similar employee cell phone policy.
Middle and high school students now have limited access to cell phones and personal devices throughout the school day and can only use their devices during non-instructional periods such as passing time and lunch in middle school and open hours in designated areas and study hall in high school.
School Board Director Lisa Williams, who had voted against the personal device policy for students in December, felt as though it was not enough to address the problem.
โEmployees are expected to not use their cell phones during instructional time unless a personal or health concern is present or itโs approved as part of the course of instruction for the instructional time,โ she said.
However, Williams said she believes the school board succeeded in writing the employee cell phone policy to mirror the existing student guidance.
RELATED: Iowa City school district implements personal device policy for schools
The school districtโs past policy for teachers, updated in May 2024, said employees may have and use cell phones during the school day. Cell phones should be used in a manner that does not disrupt instruction or school-sponsored programs, meetings, or other events where there is a reasonable expectation of quiet attentiveness, unless there is a reason for personal health or safety involved.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has also called to ban phones in classrooms in the past, citing them as distracting and impeding on student learning.
โCell phones are not only a distraction but a deterrent to development in the classroom,โ Reynolds said during her annual Condition of the State Address to lawmakers on Tuesday.