The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has recommended a conservator monitor schools in an email sent on April 10 to NEISD families. NEISD gets to keep the cellphone policy the way it is, following a Jan. 26 board meeting, but the conservator would enforce the policy. There will be no clear start date.
The TEA should not put a conservator in NEISD schools.
Putting a conservator into schools would be an invasion of privacy. Having someone who is able to enter and exit classrooms with the purpose of monitoring students and teachers is like having cameras in the classroom. It would make students feel unsafe in their school and could distract them from work rather than make them more efficient.
It will cost too much money to hire a conservator for every NEISD school. The money that will go into paying these people should go to other issues in the district. That money can go to renovating schools, giving fine arts electives more equipment and paying the current staff more. NEISD is already facing a $19 million deficit and has had to close schools and open enrollment to save money. They should not put their money into this.
Enforcing stricter policies will cause distress amongst students and cause unnecessary conflict. It´s true that even now, teachers face resistance from students on their phones. While this is an issue that is already putting kids into in-school suspension, adding a conservator on top of it all would increase that number.
Instead of conservators, NEISD should stick to reminding the teachers and administrators to enforce policy. It sounds tedious for the staff, but it’s better than the solution the TEA is thinking of.
