Panel advances K-12 phone ban to School Committee
The Watertown School Committee's Policy Subcommittee voted to forward a K-12 "bell-to-bell" personal device ban to the full committee.
School Committee · Meeting of March 24, 2026
WATERTOWN — The Watertown School Committee's Policy Subcommittee voted to forward a K-12 "bell-to-bell" personal device ban to the full committee. The three-member panel, chaired by Jessica Middlebrook with Sheila Krishnam and Bridge Kay, unanimously advanced the recommendation from a 25-member task force that met eight times since March 2025 and surveyed more than 800 students, nearly 200 staff and 300 caregivers. Middlebrook said she opposes extending the ban through lunch and passing time at the high school, preferring restrictions limited to class periods.
A task force member, Kara, objected that the administration produced an alternate policy and conducted new surveys "without the input of community members," calling it a "lack of transparency." Staff support for a full bell-to-bell policy fell from 65 percent to 30 percent over the past year, according to Krishnam. The panel also advanced new ethics-policy language on member conduct, approved unanimously.
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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 24, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.
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