Residents urge district to adopt phone-free school day and caution about AI impacts on instruction

Multiple community members used the citizen-comment period to urge the Redmond School District Board to move toward a phone-free school day and to emphasize concerns about student access to harmful online content and the interaction between personal devices and district investments in AI and instructional technology.

What speakers said: Virginia Johnson, identified in public comment, asked the board to pursue a districtwide ban on smartphones and other personal Internet- and Bluetooth-enabled devices during the school day, citing mental-health harms, cyberbullying and classroom distraction. "Only when phones are kept out of the picture for the entire day are students actually able to concentrate and give their full attention to their teachers and classmates," she said, and urged the board to keep the "momentum going this summer." Johnson asked whether a planning committee exists and offered to participate.

Tony Oliver described literacy concerns he has observed in his neighborhood, saying local children are arriving in early grades without basic writing skills and saying the district should consider different methods of instruction and increased school-choice options.

Hilda Beltran, an English teacher who addressed AI and district resources, told the board the district has invested in district-managed AI and monitoring tools (ClassWise, Clever) and argued that allowing unregulated personal devices undermines those investments. She recommended the board consider the financial and human-resource costs of managing student access and urged protections that safeguard district technology and instructional integrity.

Context and next steps: speakers asked for a planning process and committee participation. Board members acknowledged the comments and said staff will continue work on related policies; no formal motion or policy change was made during the meeting’s public-comment period.