Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/90018
'THAT IS NOT A CALCULATOR' The Sarasota County School Board is trying to achieve a balance between the need for using elec- tronic devices in schools and preventing misuse of such gadgets. iStockphoto SARASOTA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AMENDS ITS POLICY REGARDING STUDENTS' USE OF CELLPHONES AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES By Scott Proffitt Staff Writer The Sarasota County School Board vot- ed unanimously on Oct. 16 to alter the dis- trict's policy regard- ing students' use of cellphones and other electronic devices in schools. Technological change has altered the defini- tion, and the very na- ture, of what is a com- puter, what is a phone and what is a calcula- tor, making enforce- ment and decisions regarding permitted uses all the more complex. ANY ELECTRONIC OR RECORDING DEVICE(S) AT THEIR DESK, CLIPPED TO THEIR BELT, IN THEIR POCKET, OR ANYWHERE WITHIN REACH DURING TESTING, EVEN IF THE DEVICE IS TURNED OFF OR THE STUDENT IS NOT USING IT. STUDENTS MAY NOT POSSESS Sarasota County School Board District Code of Student Conduct Pine View School Prin- cipal Steve Largo told The Sarasota News Leader, "I think the re- vised policy is a move in the right direction. There is little question that schools will soon be faced with the chal- lenge of integrating our students' electron- ic devices into our dai- ly instruction."