The Francis Howell School District Board of Education held a first reading of revised Policy 2656 on July 17, with district staff and board members noting much of the language is required by state statute and that the policy will return for a second reading and vote after an August open‑meetings training.

President Blair and staff explained that the district’s policy writer drafted language that closely tracks statute and that the board’s ability to change some provisions is limited by law. During public and board discussion, concerns focused on two practical points: whether the policy’s wording should explicitly list smart watches and eyewear, and how confiscation or device removal would be handled to avoid teacher‑student conflict.

A teacher who spoke during the policy discussion described a practice she used in a previous school where administrators, rather than teachers, retrieved discovered devices discreetly and kept them in the office until the end of the day; she said that practice reduced classroom conflict and preserved instructional minutes. Board members and staff said those kinds of daily practices could be standardized with building administrators even if not spelled out in the statutory policy language.

Staff also noted Senate Bill 68 and related statutory guidance constrains one‑size‑fits‑all, zero‑tolerance consequences and that discipline decisions may need to be handled case by case. Student discipline outcomes will continue to be recorded in the district’s student data reporting system, staff said.

Next steps: Policy 2656 will return for a second reading and vote after the district’s August 2 open‑meetings training; staff asked board members to submit specific questions between meetings. Separately at the July 17 meeting the board approved Policy 3510 by vote.