Katy ISD students will have to put away smartwatches next school year

At a meeting on Monday, board members voted on a student code of conduct that included putting away smartwatches.

KATY, Texas — Students in Katy ISD will have to put away their smartwatches during class, according to code of conduct guidelines approved by the board this week.

Board members debated for more than half an hour before voting 6-0 to approve the guidelines, which included language about putting smartwatches away during class time. Board member Dawn Champagne, who pushed back against the guidelines as written, abstained from voting.

In the student code of conduct board members were discussing, students would have to put away telecommunication devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches, as well as electronic readers and other items that can transmit data or information.

You can see the full debate at the link below. It starts at around 27 minutes in.

Champagne was against adopting the rules, saying smartwatches should be excluded from the language. She said there’s not a good process for making sure students put them away. She was also concerned about the expensive watches possibly being damaged.

Other board members argued that smartwatches could be a distraction. Board president Victor Perez added they could be used to cheat.

“I don’t have an Apple Watch, but my wife does,” he said. “I see her reading messages a lot on her Apple Watch. Isn’t that the issue, to be receiving messages or receiving information on an Apple Watch during testing?”

The code of conduct guidelines are for the 2024-25 school year.