Phones locked away from 8:10 a.m. to 3:05 p.m.

What happened

Under Policy 5695 and New York State Education Law 2803, Walton students may not use phones or other personal devices anywhere on school grounds during the school day. The ban covers smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, wired and wireless headphones and earbuds, e-readers, calculators, voice recorders, cameras and music devices. Middle and high school students put their devices in district-provided lockers from 8:10 a.m. to 3:05 p.m., and phone use is listed as disruptive conduct in the code of conduct. The board amended the policy on 6 January 2026 to match how staff were actually running it, after a student and teacher survey. Enforcement tightened for 2026-27: two aides now check students in at the lockers against a roster, the principal makes random checks, the flimsy plastic middle school lockers were replaced with metal ones, and a letter went home setting out the consequences.

Why it matters to families

This is the single biggest change to the school day for every middle and high school student. The district's own surveys show it cutting both ways: teachers reported better focus, more class discussion and better academic honesty, while students split evenly three ways on their own focus and described the rule as academically effective but emotionally taxing. Recorded rule-breaking rose in the first weeks compared with a year earlier. A year-end survey of 33 students found 62.1% said they sometimes or never use their locker. Students asked for music during study halls; the district settled on iHeartRadio because it could not control what pupils would reach through Spotify.

The evidence

The full rule, including the device list and the 8:10 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. locker window, is published in the code of conduct inside the 2026-27 district-wide safety plan. The board's adoption of the amended policy on 6 January 2026 and the survey findings are on the meeting recordings of 9 December 2025 and 22 September 2026.

The source