Keep it with you.
Put it away in class.
Use it when your teacher says yes.

No. The default during instruction is simple: silent, put away, and out of sight. Under our proposal, and only where the LEA’s written policy authorizes it, a teacher can approve a specific use and end it at any time.

No. Under the proposed policy, teachers control permitted classroom use. Administrators should handle repeated problems, and no teacher has to include personal devices in a lesson.

Utah now prohibits student use bell-to-bell by default, but the law lets local education agencies define additional permitted uses. Making permission-first a guaranteed statewide option would require a change to the statute.

No. State law does not require one storage method statewide. Utah’s current education rule requires local possession-and-use policies and says violating an LEA or teacher instructional policy may lead to temporary confiscation. Our proposal asks boards to adopt a narrower, clearer standard built around on-person storage and documented reasons.

Not under our proposed rule. A silent, concealed device would not be misconduct by itself. Staff could temporarily hold it after the device is seen out or used against policy, refusal to put it away, a specific safety or privacy concern, or when a written district or charter-board rule applies. A documented individualized plan following repeated misuse could also require time-limited storage. Students still need to follow their current school policy while we work to change it.

Not under our proposal. A present student should not be marked absent, tardy, unprepared, or non-participating solely for declining an optional phone holder. A restroom request alone would not justify taking a silent, concealed device. Mandatory storage would need a written board-approved rule or a documented individualized restriction following repeated misuse. A specific immediate safety or privacy concern could justify a temporary hold, not a standing rule.

The same rule applies: put them away during instruction unless a teacher approves them or an accommodation requires them. No audio in labs or other safety-sensitive settings unless staff allow it.

Current law already protects use during imminent threats and schoolwide emergencies, as well as SafeUT, IEP or 504, and medically necessary use. This proposal keeps those protections and supports clear emergency plans that do not depend on one device.

First, give a quiet reminder and require the device to be put away for the rest of class. If a temporary hold is needed, state and document the reason and return time. Repeated misuse can lead to parent contact, an individual plan, or time-limited administrative storage. Serious conduct still follows normal discipline rules.

Nothing. This proposal does not require students to own a device. Any device-based activity must also have a school-provided or non-device option, consistent with Utah’s rule.

We oppose making a tracked digital system the only way to use the restroom. Under this proposal, every student gets a private, non-digital hall-pass option; restroom access cannot depend on a personal device or continuous location tracking. A school may still offer a limited digital option if it minimizes data, limits access, publishes a deletion schedule, and provides an equal offline alternative.

Academic grades should measure demonstrated learning. Attendance and tardiness may be recorded and reported separately, but should not raise or lower an academic grade by themselves. A narrow written exception may apply when a stated standard can only be assessed through labs, performances, clinicals, or supervised practice, with a reasonable make-up or alternative demonstration when appropriate.