Cell Phone Policy

All students will be required to use their district issued Chromebooks to access the internet at school. There may be rare cases where a course requires students to use a device whose capabilities are beyond what can be achieved using their Chromebooks. In those cases, a recommendation will come from your child’s teacher. This may also apply to certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, where an Individualized Health Plan directs that their health monitoring occurs through the internet.

If there any known issues with your child’s Chromebook or your child in grades 7-12 does not have a Chromebook, please contact Tech Support at https://lhric.service-now.com/student

All students in grade 6 will be issued their Chromebooks after school starts.

We want our students to be engaged in their learning. If a parent/guardian needs to communicate with their child, they can contact the school’s main office. Main office staff will then contact the student to speak with their parent in the main office.

We understand that timeliness matters and will prioritize emergency communication.

We want our students to be engaged in their learning. Parents can contact the main office with time-sensitive information, and school staff will ensure your child receives the message as quickly as possible. This ensures minimal disruption to instruction and student focus. We recommend calling earlier in the day to avoid last-minute delays during lunch or dismissal.

If a student feels sick, he/she can request to visit the nurse, where the child will be evaluated. If a student is ill, the nurse will contact a parent or the emergency contact person. Only the nurse can authorize a student's dismissal from school due to illness.  Students will not call their parents directly as their phones will not be accessible.

If a student is feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or needs support, he/she can request to visit their counselor’s office to make a phone call home. These designated spaces will not only provide your child with a place to contact home, but will also ensure that they are able to receive support or assistance from the appropriate staff member on site after contacting you.

We recognize that not all students' needs are visible. Main office and school counselors are prepared to treat student requests with respect and discretion. Your child does not need to disclose personal details to make a phone call—just ask to contact home, and the request will be approved. 

Furthermore, there will be additional Yondr pouch magnets located in the main office, the guidance suite, school administrators’ offices, the PPS office, and the nurse’s office, where a staff member in those locations can unlock your child’s cell phone pouch for them to reach out to you via text.

We also ask you to speak with your child about school staff members in the building that they can go to for additional support in the event they are unable to reach you, or in the event they need comfort or guidance before or after contacting you.

While we have multiple phone lines that receive calls (greeter, main office, guidance, attendance, nurse), we ask for your partnership by being thoughtful when contacting the school to relay information to your child. In the event of a high volume of calls, we’ll prioritize emergency and time-sensitive requests, but will ensure that less urgent matters are addressed as quickly as possible. Please direct specific requests through the appropriate offices at your child’s school using the guide below:

Guidance - Contact the guidance office to speak about any matters relating to their academics, counseling, a mental health concern, or a family emergency.

Nurse - Contact the nurse’s office to speak about any matter relating to your child’s physical health, medication, or illness.

Attendance/Greeter - Contact the attendance office or the greeter’s desk to speak about their attendance or tardiness on a particular school day.

Main Office - Contact the main office to speak about alternative pick-up or dismissal plans, any potential concern related to bullying or harassment, or any other matter not listed above.

School staff members are prepared to relay information shared by you to your child as quickly and as accurately as possible. In the event a parent/guardian needs to communicate with their child, they will be able to contact the school’s main office to request to speak to their child. Main office staff will then contact the student to speak with their parent in the main office.

If a message is particularly sensitive, families can ask that a guidance counselor or support staff member deliver the message directly.

Yes. Students can request permission from a school staff member, visit the main office, or visit the counselor’s office to make a call home. No detailed explanation will be required unless the student wishes to share.

While there will not be a limit on students’ opportunities to contact home, we ask you to discuss with your child which situations require immediate contact as compared to others that do not. 

Please remind your child who they can speak with in the event they need support during the school day, including but not limited to teachers, counselors, psychologists, or school administration.

Yes. Phones will remain on while inside the Yondr pouch, so location tracking services will still function. However, students will not be able to access or use the phones until the pouch is unlocked at dismissal.

In the event of a true emergency, we will follow our safety plan. Administrators will send alerts and timely updates directly to parents through official channels.

Students’ primary focus during an emergency must be following directions from staff members.  The use of phones by students has been attributed to distraction from important directions and the spread of misinformation. The district has safety plans for both responding to an emergency and the reunification of students with parents.  

In addition, each classroom will be equipped with magnets to unlock the Yondr pouch.  This will allow students to communicate directly with parents if deemed safe by school officials and with guidance from emergency responders. 

Our current practices and policies for after-school use of devices remain in place: devices may be used as appropriate in these settings, as determined by the adult in charge.

Our policy is designed to guide and support students, not punish them. While students may receive consequences based upon the Code of Conduct, which uses a progressive discipline approach (with consequences increasing in severity if the same infraction occurs more than once), your child will not be suspended solely for violating the cell phone policy.

The policy allows for internet-enabled device use in situations where a student’s documented healthcare needs require it. Nurses and support staff are available to assist students and contact parents when needed.

Similar to our Chromebook and textbook programs, students will be responsible for taking care of their cell phone pouch and responsible for replacement costs if it is lost and/or damaged. Each pouch costs $30.  Since NYSED is reimbursing the District $11 per pouch for the initial purchase, families will be assessed the following fees. For each student, the first replacement will be $19 per pouch.  Each subsequent replacement will be $30.