Cellphone use outside Aurora Central High School in Colorado

Currently at Aurora Central High School cellphones have been entirely banned from the premises. Cellphones cannot even be used outside the building, during hours or after hours.



All students have recieved what is called the "Safe Schools Book" to take home to their parents and have them sign a form that comes along with it. Some might have read what is inside this book, but more than likely, most have not.



The book states:

"Discipline should only be employed for one of two purposes: 1)as a tool for learning; or 2)as a means to maintain an atmosphere that is safe and conductive to learning."

"Removal of a student from the learning environment may sometimes be necessary either for the safety of others or to ensure an appropriate learning environment."

"Out-of-School suspension is only one among many possible disciplinary consequences, and may not be the most effective way to change behavior. A student should be given the opportunity to continue her/his education while receiving disciplinary consequences whenever school administration believes this can be accomplished whithout endangering the safety of others or the quality of the learning environment."



The book states certain rules that may be broken and the severity of their consequences. The book states that by using a cellphone or electronic device, it may result in a severity 1-2 for a minor offense, to a 2-4 for a serious offense. A 1 is a confrence, where a 4 is expulsion. The school must refer a minor offense, but they do not have to refer for a serious offense.



Students should be allowed to use their cellphones outside of the building at any time they have no classes. A student may need to call their parents for a ride, but the school will not allow it and either take your phone or kick you off the premises. Some students have lost their cellphones and have been suspended, this had happened in the first two days of school. They have set up a desk at the front entrance to check for things like electronic devices, such as cellphones and music players. They treat these devices like they are weapons and are dangerous to students.



When a student is forced to leave the premises to use their cellphone to call home for a ride, this can be considered unsafe, which goes against what one of the first things the book states. A student who leaves the campus to make a call may have to walk down a neighborhood they don't know, and something bad may happen, like getting kidnapped or beat up. The cellphone then serves no purpose for the student may not have the time to react. Using it on school grounds guarantees that school officials are able to protect students from these occurences.



They want to keep students in school, and stop them from ditching and dropping out, but this will only make matters worse. When a student gets suspended for their cellphone, it may make them not want to return, causing a dropout.



I am asking that you sign to allow students to have the right to use a cellphone outside of the school building at any time as long as the student has no class. I am not asking for use of cellphones in the building however.