Last year the school board focused quite a bit of time and energy on the issue of cell phone policy. Using the book, The Anxious Generation, we all dove deep into the findings of Jonathan Haidt and discovered how the ubiquitous use of these devices impacts our youth. The idea for this was borne out of a request from the school board to strengthen our cellphone polices. To refresh your memory on the evolution of this topic during the last school year, please refer to the following blog posts: Smartphones in Schools (September 25, 2024), What You Told Me About Cell Phones (November 5, 2024), We Haven't Forgotten (February 18, 2025), and finally Cellphone Restrictions Are Coming Soon (May 7, 2025).
What we learned during this study, not only from the book but from our constituents is that the opinions on cell phones in schools varied widely. One commenter suggested, "The stricter the better! Kids don't need the interaction." Another wrote, "As a parent, I feel safer with my child having a phone." All of this was great for our discussion, but made for a difficult needle to thread in terms of policy development. Then, as I am sure you are aware, the governor signed a bill at the end of the legislative session requiring school districts across Iowa to develop policies that govern access to these devices during the school day, with a required prohibition during instructional time. On June 18, the school board adopted Policy 503.9 Student Use of Personal Electronic Devices. While the policy does not outright ban these devices, it does put restrictions on them in accordance with Iowa law. Your child's building principal will be discussing these policies soon at a class meeting.
When I was a child growing up, we didn't have to worry about cell phones. If I wanted to call home or vice versa, we could use the phone in the office! At home it was much the same. We had one phone in our house, and it was attached to the wall with a cord! If I wanted to have some privacy to talk to a girl, forget about it! It was certainly a different time. A simpler time. You want to know what else we didn't have to worry about as a child of the 80s?
Artificial intelligence.
The speed at which AI is evolving is a bit unsettling. We are entering an era where tools exist to complete tasks that once upon the time were the plot lines of science fiction novels. Perhaps answer questions that have plagued our society for generations. Or for sinister purposes.
Last spring we saw stories dominate the headlines where student images were manipulated using artificial intelligence. These images sometimes depicted nudity or other sexually explicit material. Sometimes called 'deepfakes', this type of image manipulation will not be tolerated at Hudson Schools. In most cases, this type of behavior would fall under Policy 503.1 Student Conduct and would be egregious enough to warrant a disciplinary hearing before the board with a recommendation for expulsion. Furthermore, almost a year prior to these stories dominating the the headlines, our school board also adopted Policy 605.8 Artificial Intelligence. The accompanying administrative regulation specifically outlines image manipulation as prohibited behavior. Let's hope and pray it never comes to that in our school district.
It's sure a different world from when I grew up, although to be clear I still found plenty of ways to get into hot water!
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