North East ISD will avoid state oversight after changing its cell phone policy to ban student phone use from the first bell to the last bell.
SAN ANTONIO — The threat of a state-appointed conservator is no longer hanging over North East ISD.
District leaders announced that the Texas Education Agency will not move forward with plans to appoint a conservator to oversee North East Independent School District following months of disagreement over the district’s student cell phone policy.
The dispute centered on how NEISD defined the “school day.”
Until recently, students were allowed to use their phones during lunch and passing periods. District leaders argued those times were not part of the instructional school day. The TEA disagreed, saying state law requires a complete ban on student cell phone use throughout the entire school day.
In September, the agency notified the district that it believed the policy violated state law. NEISD trustees stood by their decision, prompting the TEA to launch a formal investigation in February.
The investigation led the agency to recommend appointing a conservator, a state official with the authority to oversee and potentially override decisions made by a district’s superintendent and elected school board.
Facing that possibility, NEISD trustees voted in April to revise the policy.
Beginning this fall, cell phones will be prohibited from the first bell to the last bell at every NEISD campus, bringing the district into compliance with the state’s interpretation of the law.
With the policy change now in place, the TEA has backed away from installing a conservator, allowing the district to maintain local control.
The decision ends a months-long standoff between one of San Antonio’s largest school districts and the state’s education agency.