CELL PHONES BANNED IN CLASS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - Students may have cell phones on campus, but they will be restricted, under a policy tentatively ten·ta·tive adj. 1. Not fully worked out, concluded, or agreed on; provisional: tentative plans. 2. Uncertain; hesitant. approved by the board of the Muroc Joint Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. . The move comes after the recent passage of a state law that says schools can't prohibit pro·hib·it tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. students from having cell phones on campus. ``All we are trying to do is you can't use them in class. We don't want them going off in the middle of class,'' Superintendent Mike Summerbell said. Until 2003, cell phones had been illegal on school campuses under a 1980s law aimed at preventing campus drug deals facilitated by pagers. But state lawmakers in 2002 revoked the ban because cell phones had become commonplace. The board at its Sept. 8 meeting tentatively approved the policy and final approval is expected at the Oct. 13 meeting. At the meeting, one parent said she was glad the district was putting a policy into place, Summerbell said. The proposed policy states that students in grades nine through 12 can use their cell phones before and after school and during morning break and lunch. In grades kindergarten kindergarten [Ger.,=garden of children], system of preschool education. Friedrich Froebel designed (1837) the kindergarten to provide an educational situation less formal than that of the elementary school but one in which children's creative play instincts would be through eight, students must obtain permission from school officials to use their cell phones at any time. ``If they need to make a call, students can always go to the office and use the office phone,'' Summerbell said. Because some cell phones have cameras, cell phones will be prohibited pro·hib·it tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. in locker Things commonly known as lockers include:
Summerbell said there were no incidents that prompted the district to consider a formal board policy. Measures dealing with the issue have been implemented at the schools but there was no formal board policy in place. ``There was not a lot of abuse. Students were pretty good at complying with this,'' Summerbell said. ``We were piloting rules at the schools. The policy will mirror most of what we've been doing.'' The Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County. The district includes eight public high schools, one trade school, and two continuation high schools in the cities of Palmdale in August 2003 adopted a policy that allows students to bring cellular phones onto campus but not to use them during school hours. The high school board approved the new policy amid concerns that cell phones have created distractions on campus and have even been used to cheat on tests. Students can use the phones before and after school and at some school activities. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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