District technology and policy updates were a major part of the June 4 meeting.

Tamita Joy, the district’s technology leader, told the board that New York State requires districts to develop a policy on personally owned internet‑connected student devices by Aug. 25. The district is drafting its policy with input from principals, staff and student advisory groups and aims to publish a draft for community input by early July or Aug. 1. Joy said the state’s requirement covers a “bell‑to‑bell” ban — from the start of the school day to the end of the school day — but the district must specify allowable exceptions such as educational access, emergency or medical needs and accommodations under IEP or 504 plans.

Joy also described device logistics: the district completed Chromebook distribution for students moving to the high school (an end‑of‑year swap for eighth graders) and is offering a four‑year warranty option through Dell at an educational discount (Joy said the district purchased a four‑year warranty at about $65). The district will also offer optional insurance for families; the technology office’s rate last year was $32 but the vendor has discussed a possible price increase. Joy said warranty coverage and insurance differ (warranty offers one full replacement; insurance covers multiple incidents over time).

Other technology items: the transportation vendor Transfinder has been integrated with the student information portal to display alternate AM/PM transportation stop information for families; the district is transitioning daily tech‑support staffing from an EdTech vendor to BOCES staff who will rotate among buildings; and GoGuardian monitoring will work only for students logged into district accounts (teachers noted that students using personal accounts may not appear to be monitored).

Officials said training for staff on classroom tools and GoGuardian is planned next year and that the district will continue to refine device policies in the months ahead.