These are questions that they ask the board. Um the number one is does the district provide antibbias education? And our answer is no we do not. And so in that regard once I tell press plus that we are a no they then go and adjust some of the other policies. So just referencing that. Question two, does the district offer sex education? Um, here's a correction on here. I listed it no, but the answer is yes, we do. So, just make a note of that. And, uh, the third question, does the board offer a unit of instruction in grades 9 through 12 on naturalization? And the answer is yes, we do. So, we will forward th those um answers off to Press Plus for them to make those adjustments. The other item was number 7160. Again, there was a board question for student appearance. Uh, press plus wanted to ask the board, does the board wish to expand the laws requirement of race, ethnicity, of hair texture?
And we are recommending that we do incorporate that language to make sure that there's a broader term um for accepting student appearance. What does that mean? So basically if we take a look at that the um the student appearance basically allows you know a kind of like a dress code. And so what this is saying is we are uh expanding our dress code to include for example if students have certain hairstyles. we would broaden that term um to include um hair textures or ethnicity to include um you know as long as it wasn't overly distracting. Does that make sense? No, that's okay. Okay. So, uh why why are we adding that part? We're just expanding it to include those words of uh ethnicity or hair texture. It broadens the um the definition for what we will allow for student appearance. So again, these are press question, do we have um something that says people of certain hair texture or ethnicity?
I I I guess I'm I'm wondering like what circumstance would that be? But if I'm correct, so Press Plus comes out with updates, periodic updates, and these are kind of option optionality that they've built into this this update. So you can kind of go down one of two roads in some of the different language they just wondering what that there would be that we would say somebody, you know, that I don't know that a a child a student couldn't have with their hair texture. I mean, how could we have a policy against somebody's hair texture? I guess that's what I'm not understanding. They're they're just broadening it because, for example, if it was um for example, some of our ladies, you know, they'll have uh you know, special hairstyles and so forth. And um this policy um doesn't discriminate for those kinds of Okay. of um I just I guess I didn't read it well enough to know that we have something that says you can't have a certain hairstyle.
It does not discriminate for it and that's why we wanted to broaden that. Yeah. Yes. He doesn't have here. Use mine. I apologize. I was losing my voice all day. So, I saved it for the last couple hours to talk to you guys. There's a new there is a new law board member group. There's a new law. It's called Jets Law that was passed um because There was a there was a actually there was a private school near the city of Chicago that was um forbidding certain hairstyles textures that were associated with traditionally African-American hairstyles. Um and so the legislature took it took action brought to its attention that schools had policies that were restricting certain hairstyles. Now we have this new law in place that forbids school districts from prohibiting um hairstyles that are traditionally related to African American hair. And so I am anticipating that what's going on here with the press policy is the implementation of the law through policy and making sure that school districts are following the law.
I I just was hoping that we didn't even have a policy that said somebody can't have their hair a certain way. It's it's unlikely you did. This is this is likely making it more explicit are not prohibiting both certain. Thank you. Um there is another item uh 7190 for student behavior. Uh this one I wanted to have a particular note to because um I am adding some language to the um suggested policy. It says our cell phones required to be out of sight. We are suggesting yes absolutely out of sight. And there was another change. It says unless otherwise banned under this policy or by the building principal, all electronic devices must be kept powered off. Now they're suggesting or silenced. After speaking with the school, they would like to omit the word silenced and just have them be off and out of sight during the regular school day unless a supervising teacher grants permission.
B uses the device in which is used for a student's IEP. And then C, and this is what we wanted to omit, it is used only during lunch periods. The school would like to have the cell phones not used during lunch periods. So that would be one um change that we would recommend uh to this. Again, we've been having difficult time with cell phones in particular um you know, certainly after the last two years and so there's going to be probably more explicit movement next year to make sure that cell phones are turned off, you know, all day. I have a question on that. Why are we wanting them off and not silenced? I'm thinking in an emergency. My phone takes I have a random phone. It takes a while to power up. If they're if there something going on, it could be a few minute delay.
I mean, I don't quite understand. Do they think that because it's silence, they'll just turn it on and start using it. I'd like to know the reasoning behind that because if it's on, you're going to use it to you're gonna even if you have the ringer off, you're still going to use it to text or go on social media or social. I can't do anything on my phone when it's silenced. My phone is silenced right now. I can't do anything. I have an iPhone 13. It cannot do anything. So, I I guess what I'm asking is what's the difference? I mean, and there are many different phones, many different operations of phones. I'm just curious why we want to make them off instead of silenced. That's all. Again, I think the the I the spirit behind that is that we do not want students using the cell phones at all during the day.
And so, I I can tell you that well, I guess our question, why do they want to fight this battle again? Because they were here before when it was challenged. And when I look at fighting this battle, are they going to enforce it? Probably not. That's an aspect. So why I mean you have a few people who and and it becomes um discriminatory. I may not like this person and I might like the or I may feel more comfortable saying something to Janine, but Mr. Brown because he may have an attitude. I'm not gonna they're not they're not it's going to be like it was before. It's going to pick and choose and they're not going to fight time fighting. I mean, I I guess I just don't understand the the thought behind it. And I agree with you. We're going to waste more time enforcing some of it and not all of it.
And then we're going to have PE other kids taking video saying, "Well, look, this one got recommended and this one didn't." And then we're going to play that game or certain teachers allow allow it and then certain teachers don't. So, it would have to be there'd have to be training with the teachers to and and I guess even repercussions with the teachers because there's no way it's going to work unless it's consistent across and you're going to have to take that through the union before you do any any disciplinary. I mean to me it's just snowballing into agree and we I mean a few years ago this was moved for that that reason and and I've I mean you know I work at schools and I've seen where now it's to the point where it's not even a a real issue. Most kids I observe class after class and I do not see an issue with kids in class on the phone.
All right. The biggest thing is recording fights, but I bet you your deans appreciate it when they need to see the fight firsthand. And it's not the I mean, no, it's it may not be right, but it's probably help as well. It harms. There's some good and bad. It's kind of like social media, I guess. But how? Yeah. So, I don't really agree with that. Yes. So, what do we want to do to have hold off on this one? Well, are you saying you want me to leave and uh powered or silenced as as the language was um first um introduced in press? I say take the whole thing out personally. Oh, I don't know. I'm not I mean you could say that but they've been doing it and then even before they continue they're going to it's going to be the same issue. it's going to come back up and you'll have some will say, "Hey, we need to get rid of them." Some say it's not a big deal.
Um, it has has it been a big deal? Have you had to discipline people because of their cell phones or lack of response to their cell phones? Are students have we done a study to show that students are failing because of and doing worse in school because of their cell phones? because we don't have this rule. Because at the end of the day, kids are going to have their cell phones out just like they did before we took it took before it was taken out. Now that it's going to go back in, it's going to be the same results because they're everywhere. You you can't get through the mall, you can't go get through a ride down the street without seeing somebody with their cell phone. We can say we're going to teach them. But when they go to class, when I observe students in class, they don't have their cell phone out in the lunchroom.
Yes. Walking down the hall. Yes. In the classroom, it it I I saw a teacher, she she had a rule. Her rule was if you have an A, you can have it out at any time. If you have a B, and she created a chart as to when you can have if you if you were failing the class, you had to put it in in a cell phone locker she had. And it it worked. And so different people have creative ways but to eliminate it all together say you cannot uh have your cell phone uh I don't know I I don't know that that high school is going to be all they do yeah I mean to me I think we're creating a monster so let me go back to this uh the first question was are cell phones required to be out of sight so let me go back to that we had suggested said yes.
Um, what's your opinion on that? Are you saying yes or no on that one then? I I say no. No. Meaning that they may have them out. Um, what? Because teachers will set the guidelines within their classroom. So we may say I don't know how we can word it to still empower the teacher within their classroom. So a student can't say I can have my phone in a class because we still we do have to word it because so that the teacher in the classroom can be empowered. But I I think the bigger thing for me is in in the in the lunchrooms and the in the hallways and things of that nature. Now teachers should be empowered to say, you know, you can't have your cell phone. I mean, you wouldn't want that, but um to just say otherwise, no, you can't have it and it's just banned and you can't have it in the lunchroom.
It has to be off. We could we could try that. It has to be off and in your locker if if we want to, but it's going to be in their hands, right? It's going to be it's a bigger headache. It's it's been very difficult to have policy. The policy is where some are doing it and some are not. That's why we've been running into problems. Our social media stuff has hit the roof. The videos are hitting the roof. They're doing it in the hallways. They're doing it at lunch. They're doing it on school grounds and this is not being monitored. So, we are having to almost look to do something more of a an all or nothing on this. the gray area is what's what's really and I think it's driving this it'll it'll still happen if you put the policy in at least it gives us some backing I think to say hey you know this is the policy otherwise you know there is no the only spot that you can put cell phones that are required to be out of sight is in a classroom that's the only thing you can police the only other alternative is is kind of an incident that happened earlier the year that you know that I sent you if someone's filming a fight and they're watching it.
They should be just as they should be get in trouble just as much. It's like instigation. I could I mean again that's that's the way you're going to fix it. But the videos are already out of the damage is done. They're already on. But I don't think you're going to stop that. The only thing that has been kind of talked about are these yonder bags? You know the yonder bags? Are you familiar with those? Those are the bags that uh some districts are using that um they're in the students possession all the time. A yonder bag is like a little I don't know it's like a little tiny bag and students when they come to school they put it in the yonder bag they magnet and it and it closes it and it's in the students possession all day but they do not have access to it until the end of the day.
So all of this that the administrators and the teachers are facing with the students having these cell phones and taking inappropriate pictures so on and so forth and all of us know that's the wrong thing to do. And our superintendent is here saying you know we got a problem with this and then we have the board for the most part is saying taking away the phones is not the solution. So what is the solution? What is the solution to help our teachers out, administrators out, an environment of better learning? I'm not saying that policy is the best, but I'm saying I don't think the board could just walk away and say we don't agree with that policy, leave it as is, and do nothing. I just don't know how you're going to police it. I don't know either. So, do do we say we're going to come back as a board and talk about this?
I was around when we went over this policy over and over and over. It was exhausting. It's just exhausting. So I I would say the solution is like anything else in this within discipline is to teach the students how they're supposed to respond and react and behave. For I always tell people when it comes to discipline, I can assume that you've taught your ch child that profanity is not correct. Well, if I hear your child using profanity and I don't want it in my classroom and I say, "Hey, didn't your mom teach you better?" Like, we use profanity all the time at home, but that's what they've been taught. So now I have to teach this child that this is what you do. This is how you act in my in my classroom. I could assume that you're taught not to put your feet up on the furniture, but hey, I do it at home all the time.
Well, I have to teach you that in my classroom, you don't put your feet up on the furniture. I could assume that you're you're taught not to take certain pictures and you're like, "Hey, I'm at home taking these pictures with my mom all the time in the mirror." It's about teaching people this the students what's expected of them and not assuming or putting in place a rule and then when they get caught doing it or or something. So, and um that's why it's good to have meetings with students. It's good to have um this embedded in your curriculum that we're going to not only expect you to know, but teach you. We can assume just because somebody's in high school and they're 14 or 15 or 16 that they're mature enough to know this already. But people don't know it because people adults don't even know it.
Um one of things that's most irritating to me is somebody walking around with their phone while I'm say in a doctor's office talking to another person. That's irritating, right? But guess what? If that person was sitting right next to me and we were talking, it wouldn't be so irritating. But it's it's really no no different. But so but it's all about how how you do things and what you teach or what your perception is. The perception is we put this in place. We have something to hold them accountable to. But then when it's too many and people give up, yet the first thing that's going to happen is he's going to say administration doesn't care. I think we have to teach them it starts with them, right? So, and I'm not blaming them for anything. I'm just giving examples. So, because the I would I would ask everyone to go back and read the policy that it's here 7190 specifically item number five and I think you get broader context than what is just on this on Cara's cheat sheet.
So, maybe we can revisit that before if you want. We can come back. We can hold this this one up. This is the one. Let's hold that one off. Okay. And then Yeah, it's going to come down to enforcement. I mean, we had a policy before that wasn't enforced and then we had we did a policy with with stronger wording that was going to solve it and it didn't because it wasn't enforced. So now we were going to have another policy with stronger wording, right? That's not going to be enforced. Well, what we noticed was the big change. We did see some good results when it was first instituted. We heard from uh teachers and even students that they were more engaged when those cell phones were put away. They were engaging with one another. Well, we seemed after this co for two years, students have been at home on these phones and have gotten really attached to them emotionally uh and using these for support and they've learned how to use them, you know, maybe in not such good ways during that two years.