Hello SG Families,
On July 21, the Board of Education approved our new Student Cell Phone Policy. The policy was crafted with feedback and input from faculty, students, and parents. The policy also meets the expectations set forth in Governor Hochul’s new Bell-to-Bell Smartphone Restriction Law. The law mandates that all public schools have a policy in place by August 1, 2025. Here is a link to our Scotia-Glenville policy. Your child’s Principal will communicate specific protocols and expectations later this summer. A brief summary of the policy’s key details are found below.
Internet-Enabled Device (Smartphone) Restrictions at SG:
Elementary – Students are discouraged from bringing internet-enabled devices to school. Any device that is brought to school must be silenced and kept in the student’s personal cubby.
Middle / High School – At the middle and high school levels, personal internet-enabled devices must be silenced and stored in their lockers for the duration of the school day.
Key Aspects of our Policy:
- The restriction applies to all personal internet-enabled devices, including smartwatches. School issued Chromebooks are not subject to the restriction.
- The restriction does not apply to the school bus.
- There are limited exemptions to the cell phone restriction. For example, a diabetic student who requires a cell phone to monitor their blood sugar may keep their cell phone on their person. All exemptions must be approved by the building Principal.
- If you need to contact your child at school, please call the main office. Students will be directed to do the same if they have a pressing matter that cannot wait until after the school day. To contact your child’s school, please call 518-347-3600 and choose your school from the directory.
- Administrators understand that changes in same-day after school events, such as athletics and after-school events, must be communicated promptly through a combination of ParentSquare notifications to parents and announcements to students using the public address system.
- On the first days of school secondary students will have additional time to re-acclimate themselves to using their locker and opening a combination lock.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!
Rick Arket
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction