GALT, CA (MPG) - Galt Joint Union High School District Superintendent Anna Trunnell advocated discussing safe use of technology with students, days after social-media threats against local high schools that led to the arrest of a teenage suspect.

Superintendent Trunnell made the comments at the Sept. 19 meeting of the district board of trustees. The trustees also viewed the results of a local survey on technology use at school. 

Citing a national trend of online threats directed at schools, Trunnell recognized the “quick work” of district staff, law enforcement and the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District to maintain calm in the face of the local social-media posts.

“I’ve never seen such actions like this before. We’ve seen adults who’ve been pulling these pranks previously, and unfortunately, our students have decided to follow suit. I think it is high time to think about how we are encouraging our youth around the use of technology, especially around their responsibilities and the safe use of technology,” Trunnell said.

Galt Police Department on Sept. 17 arrested a 15-year-old boy and charged him with making the threats. The police have released no further information on the case, as of press time.

Trustee Patrick Maple said that the phenomenon is older than Trunnell said and he requested discussion of ensuring that all classrooms have at least two doorways.

“I do like the idea of what you’re going to talk about,” Maple said, referring to a survey on student tech use, “but I’m not sure it’s going to make a difference.”

Trunnell presented the survey, which asked district students, students’ families and staff about what kinds of restrictions should be placed on students’ use of cell phones.

The survey was prompted by state Assembly Bill (AB) 3216, which requires school districts and other educational bodies to adopt policies limiting or prohibiting smartphones on campus.

Conducted electronically, the survey received 643 responses, with the majority from family members. Students made up about a quarter of the respondents and about 14% of responses came from staff. Of the respondents, 59% were associated with Liberty Ranch High School, 41% with Galt High School and 4% with Estrellita High School.

The question of whether smartphones cause distractions during the school day indicated that opinions depend on the respondents’ roles. A slight majority of student respondents, 52%, said that smartphones do not cause distractions, compared to 19% who said they do.

The perception among family members was the reverse, with 52% of respondents saying smartphones do cause distractions.

Staff had an even stronger opinion, with 95% saying smartphones are distracting.

When shown sample policies with different levels of restrictiveness, the respondents consistently preferred to allow some cell phone use with limits. For example, close to three-quarters of respondents supported requiring that cell phones be silenced and put away in class but allowing their use during lunch and passing periods.

The trustees did not take formal action on the informational item. Trunnell said staff plans to “reinforce” the district’s existing policy, which reads as follows: “Students may use cell phones, smart watches, pagers, or other mobile communication devices on campus during noninstructional time as long as the device is utilized in accordance with law and any rules that individual school sites may impose. … Mobile communication devices shall be turned off during instructional time.”

Staff will consider changes to the policy based on developments around AB 3216 and on discussions with educators.

“We also want to talk directly with students and hear from them on why it (smartphone use) is so necessary and talk with them about the dangers which are also associated, which we got to see first-hand this week as students shared images around social-media threats.”

Responding to questions from Trustees Dennis Richardson and Melissa Neuburger, Trunnell said staff could develop a definition of inappropriate technology usage; it might be related to a policy on acceptable use that the district presents when a student gets registered.

Maple asked about the district’s ability to protect students from misleading content created with artificial intelligence. While the district doesn’t control what students see on their devices, Trunnell replied, there are legislative efforts to regulate artificial intelligence. Trunnell continued that it is the district’s duty to teach students how to be “responsible citizens” after graduation.