School board approves cell phone, dress code policies

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
June 30, 2004
Meridian public school students will be able to carry cell phones to school but they won't be allowed to use them during class time.
School board members voted Tuesday to let teachers take electronic devices, including cell phones and pagers, from students if used during class. Parents will have to retrieve the device at the school office.
If students violate the policy two or more times, they could be suspended for up to three days.
Meridian School Superintendent Sylvia Autry has said she feared students could use cell phones as a way to cheat on tests.
Or, she said, she worries students could use phones equipped with digital cameras to take inappropriate pictures.
The Meridian move came after the school board in Lamar County voted to suspend students if they bring cell phones to class. School officials there also fear students could use cell phones to cheat.
In other business, the Meridian School Board voted to require students to tuck their shirt tails in their pants and wear undershirts beneath oversized T-shirts that otherwise would reveal flashes of skin.
Autry said the board also approved a proposal that allows principals to decide if students in the fourth- through the eighth-grades will earn a promotion if they pass all subjects except social studies.