Colby to Implement New Electronic Devices Policy for 2026-2027 School Year

Dr. Kevin Warner with USD 315 about the new electronic devices policy.

13:22

During the latest legislative session for the State of Kansas, House Bill 2299 was passed, which banned the use of cell phones and personal use electronics in schools. Many school districts have already implemented new policies to adhere to the new legislation, one of which is Colby Public Schools, USD 315.

Dr. Kevin Warner, the new superintendent for USD 315, joined the Good Neighbor Hour to discuss the new policy, options for parents and students, and other changes that go along with the new bill.

Firstly, Dr. Warner went through what exactly House Bill 2299 does, and what they are doing to adjust. The main issue that the bill addresses is the use of personal electronic devices in schools, such as phones, headphones, iPads, and others.

"That includes smart phones, anything with Bluetooth, so you're talking earbuds, you're talking smartwatches...That also includes personal iPads or computers...That is all part of House Bill 2299."

With their new policy, which you can see off to the right, they give three options to parents and students to make this as smooth as possible.

The first is to just leave the device at home, which makes it as simple as possible.

Another option is to leave the device or devices in their vehicle, if that is applicable.

However, if neither of those options work, the schools do have another. If a student brings a device to school, there will be a procedure that the students and staff go through.

Below is a quote from the interview with Dr. Warner describing what this procedure will be.

"What we decided to do as a district was provide a lock box...each kid will walk by with their devices and will be assigned a locked box on a cart. That cart will be stored in the office in case a student leaves for an appointment or something in the middle of the day."

Another smaller yet still very important part of this legislation has to do with social media. Most schools have multiple social media pages for their different activities, but that is mostly gone. Due to this bill, social media becomes very limited for schools and staff.

In fact, even the public gets affected by this bill, as public comments on social media posts regarding a specific student is prohibited, whether the comment is positive or negative. Students also cannot communicate with a teacher through social media or any outlet that is not approved by the school board.

The bill is so precise, that even Dr. Warner can't make a public social media post about his daughter who will be a Sophomore at Colby High School.

While there will be a lot of changes in the buildings, Dr. Warner is very optimistic about the positives that will come with this policy, such as more interaction between students, better focus in the classroom, and hopefully all that will show on test and exam results.

Dr. Warner even mentioned that the district is looking into limiting their own screen time using school devices, showing their commitment to making the learning environment as distraction free as possible.

You can listen to the Good Neighbor Hour on Rockit 102.5 KLOE every weekday morning from 5:30-7 am mountain.