Schoolwide Phone Policy

William Cullen Bryant

Schoolwide Phone Policy

To enhance the teaching and learning experience, our school will be a phone-free space using a system called Yondr. The Yondr program utilizes a simple, secure pouch that stores a phone. According to CMSD’s Board Policy and Ohio House Bill 250, any student that chooses to bring a phone to school will secure their phone in a personally assigned Yondr pouch upon entrance to the building. Students will maintain possession of their phones but will not use them until their pouches are unlocked at the end of the school day. Students are responsible for the Yondr pouch that is assigned to them, and they must be returned to WCB in good condition at the end of the school year, or upon leaving our school.

Students are expected to adhere to the following procedures/rules:

• Upon entering the building, the student is required to lock his/her cell phone into their assigned Yondr pouch. Students may not share pouches. The phone/pouch will remain in the student’s bookbag and/or in their assigned locker. Students will NOT carry their Yondr pouches with them throughout the course of the school day.
• Unless medically necessary, students should NOT bring more than one phone to school. The pouches are designed for one device only.
• At the end of the school day, the students will unlock their pouch and take their phone/pouch home. It is the student's responsibility to unlock their pouch prior to leaving the school building. If they fail to do so, they will need to wait until the following day to utilize the unlocking mechanism. If a student is being dismissed early, they may unlock their pouch in the main office once their parent/guardian signs them out for early dismissal.
• If you need to communicate with your student during the school day, you may contact the main office at 216-838- 3350. If a student needs to communicate with his/her parents during the school day, they may do so using the phone in the main office after receiving permission from school staff.

If a student violates any of the rules/procedures stated above, the following consequences will occur:

• 1 st Offense – Phone confiscated + Parent Pickup
• 2 nd Offense – Phone confiscated + Parent Pickup
• 3 rd Offense – Phone confiscated + Parent Pickup + Student Planning Center for intervention
• 4 th Offense – Phone confiscated + Parent Pickup + Out of School Suspension
• If a student loses or damages their pouch, a $30 fee will be assessed in order to receive a new pouch

Note: Damage consists of any signs that the physical integrity of the pouch has been compromised, whether intentional or unintentional, as determined by the school, or if the pouch is drawn on, colored on, or otherwise altered from its original state.

Refusal to turn in or store the phone as described above will automatically result in a disciplinary action according to the Student Code of Conduct.

If a student chooses to bring headphones/ear pods and/or smartwatches to school, they should be secured in the student’s Yondr pouch and placed in their backpack or locker. They will NOT use them during the school day. If students need headphones during the school day, they will be provided to them by school staff. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in confiscation of the headphones/ear pods and/or smartwatches and parents will need to pick them up from the school.

Responsibility/Liability

Any student who chooses to bring a cellular phone or other electronic device to school shall do so at their and their family’s own risk. The District and its employees will assume no responsibility or liability for loss, theft, damage, or vandalism to a cellular phone or other electronic device brought onto school transportation or property, even during times the phone or device are subject to the collection or storage process of the District. To this end, families are not required to send any personal cell phone or electronic device to school with their student and are encouraged to carefully evaluate all associated risks and benefits when deciding whether to send a cell phone or electronic device to school with a student.