The South Carroll Special School District Board of Trustees approved revisions to the 2025-26 student handbook at the July 17 meeting that add Yondr pouches and revise the district's cell-phone policy. The updated discipline sequence for students caught using a cell phone during the school day will be detention, then Saturday school, then assignment to the alternative school, the transcript records. Smart watches are included in the prohibition; backpacks must be clear; five unexcused absences will be considered truancy, with parents to be notified by letter and a phone call.

Why it matters: Student-discipline policy and property rules affect daily school operations, student privacy and parental notification procedures.

Details recorded at the meeting: Mrs. Jenny Miler, the principal, is quoted in the agenda text noting that Yondr pouches "have come in" and that changes to the cell-phone policy are the biggest change. The transcript records a motion to approve the handbook with discussed changes (moved by Mr. Colton Moore; seconded by Dr. Christy Blount). The transcript does not record a vote tally but shows the motion was made and seconded.

What was clarified and what was not: The transcript specifies the order of consequences for violation of the phone rule (detention, Saturday school, then alternative school) and that smart watches are included. The handbook requirement that backpacks be clear and that five unexcused absences will be treated as truancy were recorded; the transcript notes parents will be notified by letter and by phone. Specific implementation details (for example, how Yondr pouches will be stored or distributed, appeals processes, or the threshold and timing for discipline) were not provided in the transcript.

Next steps: The handbook changes were approved as recorded in the minutes-like transcript; operational rollout details were not specified and likely will be handled by district administration.