Kaiser High puts cell phone policy on hold

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — Kaiser High School's School Community Based Management council will take another month to make sure that everyone — students, parents, administrators and teachers — agree on the details of proposed new cell phone policy before the final vote in January.

At a meeting last night, representatives for the parents and the community said they supported a policy that kept phones from ringing during class time and let students use their cell phones during recess and lunch. The proposed policy prohibits any personal cellular telephones during instructional or classroom hours. The policy would extend to field trips and out of class activities.

The next meeting will be in January after the winter break, said Gayle Sugita, Kaiser High School principal. No date was set.

Should a student be found violating the policy, the first time will be a warning, the second time, a teacher will confiscate the phone and turn it over to the administration, which will give it back at the end of the school day. The third time, a student's phone will be confiscated by the administration and arrangements made with the parents to pick it up a week later. And if the policy is violated for the fourth time, a cell phone can be taken away until the end of the year.

"I'd be OK if you held my daughter's cell phone for a week," said Marcia Murakami, a member of the SCBM council. "By the time you get to the third offense, I'm sure it is more like the 10th offense."

Natasha Moses, a Kaiser High School senior, agreed with the policy, but wanted to ensure that it would be enforced equally by all teachers.

"While I'm in school, my cell phone is usually off," Moses said. "But if I have a group project due and I haven't seen my partners, I'll call them. But it's not an everyday call. Between the three of us (the student representatives) our phones are hardly used."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.