The Orange County School Board is discussing potential changes to the district's code of student conduct, including one that would ban student cell phone usage during the school day. 

The proposed change has already stirred up quite the conversation among parents.

At least on parent has come out against the plan — Judi Hayes is a proud mother of two whose sons William and Jack are heading to sixth and 10th grades. She told Spectrum News that the changes that are being discussed by the School Board concerning students and cell phones make her uneasy. 

“I’m concerned, because it feels like we are throwing out the baby with the bathwater," she said. "It just feels like we are making an over-broad policy for the entire district, where there are nuances that would suggest to me that it should be tailored more towards elementary, middle and high school."

The redline changes being discussed this week would ban cell phone usage for the entirety of the school day, requiring students to keep it turned off and concealed unless a teacher allows them to use it solely for educational purposes. Hayes said that while her youngest doesn’t have a phone, she wants to be able to reach her high schooler, and said she would worry about her children's safety if she was unable to.

“Having that line of communication open with them really does help to make it a little more navigable as a parent," Hayes said. "If there is an active shooter threat, I usually hear about it from my kid before I get the call out from school. My kid will text me and say, 'Hey, we are on a medical hold,' or whatever, and just having more information I think is really important."

Under the proposed policy, a student caught with a phone could have it confiscated. While Hayes says she thinks there needs to be some kind of policy governing how kids can use their phones, she says it should be up to parents to teach their children what is appropriate.

“I worry that we will be holding our kids back if we are not teaching our kids how to use technology appropriately and just taking it away,” she said. 

Hayes also said she feels like teachers already have enough on their plate, and this policy would make it their responsibility to police their students instead of educating.