JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Greater Clark County Schools is cracking down on bullying and how students use their cellphones.
The school board approved several new policies Wednesday night, one of which addresses bullying on social media. The district expanded its current bullying policy to include cellphones. On top of traditional bullying in school, students will now be banned from using their cellphones or other wireless devices to harass others.
Interim Superintendent Mark Laughner said the new policy applies to what happens during school hours, but it could potentially follow students home.
“For the most part, it's during school hours, but if something occurs outside of school hours and then ends up disrupting the school environment, then it's something that will be dealt with in the school environment because of that disruption,” Laughner said.
Students will also be banned from using their cellphones to record any audio or video on the school bus. School leaders say many kids are easily provoked to fight or act out when other students are recording, so the new policy is aimed at making rides on the school bus safer, and in some cases, less chaotic.
The district also expanded its tobacco ban on buses to include vaping and e-cigarettes.
Students could also face searches with handheld metal detectors. District leaders said the wands will only be used if there is reasonable suspicion that a student is armed. The policy allows administrators to search both a student and their belongings.
The searches will be done in private, and they must be conducted by an administrator of the same gender. The policy says another adult witness must also be there. The district said the scope of the search should be focused on finding weapons, but if tobacco or drugs are found during the search, the student will face discipline.
Any administrator who uses the metal detectors will have to get special training.
Greater Clark joins another southern Indiana district in using metal detectors. New Albany Floyd County Schools passed a metal detector policy last year.
The district will notify parents of the new policy before the beginning of the school year.
All new policies take effect in the 2019-20 school year.
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