Mahanoy school board discusses dress code, phone policies
MAHANOY CITY – The Mahanoy Area School District is mulling changes to its dress code and cell phone policies.
Superintendent Joie Green said the changes come after meetings with staff members at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
“In groups by department, these two concepts were brought up from almost every group,” Green said at last week’s school board meeting.
The dress code changes, she said, would prohibit clothing that “does not provide adequate coverage” and provide clearer guidance on what that means.
“They can wear anything that they want, but it cannot be revealing, basically,” she told the board.
Green discussed what actions would be taken if the policy is violated. She said students would be able to call home for a change of clothes or borrow clothes from the school.
Further information will be distributed to parents once the policy is finalized.
As for cell phones, Green said that they can be a major distraction and safety concern.
“A kid gets in trouble in class, and they are in the hallway calling their parent,” Green said.
Green told the board that a teacher had a classroom policy where each student places their phone in a box for the duration of class. A student was late to class and was directed to do so and refused, she said.
“He flipped his phone open, turned it on, called his parent, put his parent on speakerphone, and the parent started cursing and screaming at the teacher in the middle of class in front of all the students,” Green said. “These things are happening that shouldn’t happen.”
She said, on the other hand, a teacher with a school-aged student said they would not feel comfortable if their child didn’t have their phone on them.
“We thought about all of this and we came up with the plan where the child would be able to carry the cell phone in school, but it must be off at all times,” Green said.
Board member Dan Lynch, referring to the story of a parent cursing on the phone in class, said he believed “you do not have a duty to be cordial to that person.”
“I would encourage you to tell them what they need to hear,” Lynch said. “Tell them you can come to a board meeting and there are board members who would love to hear what you have to say.”
“You’re not there to be a punching bag, and neither are we,” Lynch said. “I don’t want to speak for everybody else, but I don’t believe you have a duty of being cordial.”
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