BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — Sweeping new state laws are changing the way students and teachers in Martin County communicate, use their phones, and engage with technology in the classroom.

Senate Bill 181 and House Bill 208 — which target cellphone use and electronic communications in schools — took center stage Monday during the Martin County Board of Education meeting. Officials heard the second reading of the district’s policy designed to promote compliance, safety and accountability.

Cellphones to go in lockbox

“The state made the law that you can’t use cellphones during instructional time,” Superintendent Larry James told the board. “So we’re getting lockboxes for grades 3 through 12 for the schools to take them up and give them back after every class period. They will still have time during lunch and breaks to use their phones.”

James noted that each school within the district has the flexibility to make its rules more restrictive if needed.

“Our policy is broad,” he said. “If they want to make them even tighter, they can.”

He acknowledged the shift would be an adjustment, not just for students but also for faculty.

“For the staff too,” James said. “As a teacher, I can’t say, ‘Steve, I’m taking your phone up,’ then I’m on my phone. They need to be put away during instruction time, too. They have to be good role models. Everybody is so attached to their phones, it’s going to be a learning curve, I’m sure.”

James expressed hope that reducing screen time during school hours could ease disciplinary issues fueled by online drama.

“I think this might help,” he said. “It might help on reducing the number of TikTok challenges. You know, 95% of our fights are because people get into it on social media, and then they come to school and fight about it. But you still have after school where they can still get on social media, so we’ll see. Hopefully it helps.”

McCoy urges outreach

District 1 board member Mickey McCoy stressed the importance of making sure families are fully informed about the new policy before school begins.

“I think this is going to be something that is so different for the students of Martin County,” McCoy said. “We need help in presenting [the cellphone policy] in a way that all of the knowledge is out there before a child comes to school. … I was thinking that the newspaper could help us get the message out on this policy and how it’s going to be. We don’t want to surprise anybody on the first day or two.”

McCoy emphasized that staff must also adhere to the policy and that consistency across classrooms will be key.

Dena James, special education director and board recorder, offered clarification on the scope of the district’s updated policy.

“The district’s policy states students shall not have cellphones during instructional time, which is what the legislature laid out in SB 181,” Dena said.

“After [the board] approves it, then each school will come up with a plan for how they will implement that. Each school may be different, and they will inform the parents. I think there is something that says within the first 10 days of school, but ideally before school starts.”

The board formally adopted the Kentucky School Boards Association policy and procedure updates.

Safe messaging

District technology director Roscoe Mullins, who presented his technology plan and update, also addressed SB 181’s other major component: restricting how teachers and students communicate digitally.

The bill mandates the use of district-approved, traceable communication platforms for all school-related interactions, effectively banning the use of private messaging apps and social media for official communication. It also requires parents to be notified of the approved platforms and given instructions on how to access them.

“It’s communications—not only communications with students but cellphones in the classroom,” Mullins explained. “We are working through that. We have our Rooms product, which is an extension of Apptegy, our web hosting platform. The district has an app that includes messaging. Everything is going to be pretty good once we get there.”

Apptegy Rooms is a two-way, classroom-level messaging tool integrated into the school district’s mobile app and website. It is designed specifically for safe, direct communication between teachers, students and guardians—all within a secure, district-branded environment.

Though Mullins praised the intent behind SB 181, he did not mince words about the rollout.

“SB 181 was a great idea that was rushed through and poorly implemented,” he said. “Basically it was tossed to everybody to say, ‘Here, make this happen right now.’ There’s a lot of infrastructure involved, but we’re moving along and doing really well.”

Chromebook abuse

Mullins also warned of a growing concern with student-issued devices. He reported an alarming increase in what he called “intentional damage” to Chromebooks, often tied to destructive TikTok trends.

“I don’t mean accidental damage,” Mullins said. “I mean intentional damage. You’ve got things going on where they’re just tearing things up. I think it sends a bad message to our kids when there aren’t any repercussions when something is given to you and you destroy it. I would like them to learn to take care of things. More than anything else, it’s just that personal responsibility. Plus, it costs the district money every time that happens.”

To address the issue, Mullins, the administration and the BOE are exploring the implementation of a technology usage fee. He said some districts charge students $75 at the beginning of the school year and refund the fee if there is no damage at the end.

“But what does that mean in Martin County, with our economy?” Mullins asked. “People have multiple kids and you hit them up for $150 or $200 at the first of the year, that might impose a huge hardship. We’re just trying to come up with some sort of idea.”

McCoy asked if other districts require parents to sign damage contracts. Mullins confirmed that they do.

“I agree that someone has to be accountable,” said McCoy.

Board member Bowie Clark asked whether the uptick in damage was a recent trend.

Mullins said it has been an ongoing problem, but worsened noticeably in the spring.

The board agreed to table the usage fee proposal for further discussion at the next meeting.

Other tech topics

In his broader technology update, Mullins stated that the district is actively migrating its Windows devices to Windows 11 ahead of Microsoft’s end-of-support deadline for Windows 10, scheduled for this October.

“It has not been a problem,” Mullins said. “We had to retire a few machines earlier than I would have liked, but we still got five or six years out of them. We’re in pretty good shape on that. The Apple machines are all current; everything is good. Technology on that end, in front of the user, is really good.”

Security remains a top priority. Mullins said the district is working to segment its Wi-Fi networks so that users can only access appropriate systems.

“A middle school kid should not be able to see Eden Elementary’s network,” he said.

Mullins also touched on the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and AGI (artificial general information), highlighting both their potential benefits and challenges.

“There are a lot of purpose-built AIs out there that people can use to make their jobs easier,” he said. “There’s stuff that kids can use to cheat. That’s the teacher’s problem. That’s not something I can solve.”

He acknowledged that while AI poses risks, especially in student misuse, it also offers real advantages for educators.

“There are tools that can make a teacher’s job easier if they upload data,” he continued. “And we’ve got to make sure we are not letting teachers upload any data that might contain personal information. It’s awfully appealing when an IEP can be written for a student in about 10 seconds as opposed to somebody sitting down and putting a few hours into it. And it can absolutely do that.”

Mullins emphasized the need for caution and oversight in adopting such technology.

“These are things that we want to do, but we have to be very careful in how we implement them,” he said.

The board voted unanimously to accept the district’s technology plan.