FORT SMITH, Ark. — School districts around Arkansas are facing questions about their phone-free policies and how they work in emergencies after a shooting on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
Fort Smith Superintendent Terry Morawski described the Georgia school shooting as a "nightmare that any school community is worried about and concerned about."
"Our hearts go out to that community, and we are thinking about them, and it's obviously a concern for any school district, any teacher, any parent in the country when they see those things," Morawski said.
The superintendent said the district had worked to keep gun violence away from the students.
"Over the last five years, we've done quite a few things — had some major capital investments, some major dollars spent on that, and then also staffing related to that," Morawski said.
Some of those measures include an access control system monitoring anyone who comes in and out. He said visitors must enter through the office during school hours and a card-based system closely monitors who comes in or out.
The district has also added an artificial intelligence layer to its camera system to detect weapons. Morawski said they're one of the first to establish a district police department consisting of 14 officers, a dispatch department, and leadership.
However, one of the changes made this past summer has come with mixed reviews. Fort Smith Public Schools decided to implement a phone-free pilot program at Ramsey and Kimmons. The program will use Yondr pouches to store away phones, smart watches, or any other communication devices.
The superintendent said the district made the decision so that students "could really focus on their learning and the instruction that's happening in the school and be less focused on receiving text messages, updating social media, and things like that during class."
In an emergency scenario, the superintendent said the school would communicate directly with parents.
"Communication from a lot of sources can be chaotic and confusing, and even sometimes communication systems are not functioning in those times too," Morawski said. "So we would, through our district sources, through the school, communicate with families about what needed to happen next."
Morawski said there is a way for children to contact their families, but they're still working through the logistics as the pouches arrive in October.
"The student is actually able to keep the phone on them, but it's locked in a magnetic pouch, so if they need it in an emergency, something like that, it can be unlocked for them," Morawski said.
Still, some parents across the state have concerns.
Christina Test, a mother of two students in the Huntsville School District, made the following statement on Facebook:
"Until my children no longer have active shooter drills and have to worry about getting massacred during math class, then they will have their phones. They should not be allowed to have them out in class and that is something that the teachers have allowed to happen. I will not support them being taken away if they are not able to 100% guarantee that my child will be coming home every single day... and no school can do that anymore."
When 5NEWS spoke to Test about her post, she said it was warranted and valid. She said phones shouldn't be a school's priority.
"If they want to keep phones out of school, perhaps they should figure out how to keep the guns out of schools first," Test said.
The Huntsville School District has not implemented a phone-free policy.
"Use of an electronic device is permitted to the extent it is approved in a student’s individualized education program or it is needed in an emergency that threatens the safety of students, staff, or other individuals," the student handbook says.
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