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Board Memo Template: Recommending a Bell-to-Bell Phone Policy
A board memo for a school phone policy should fit on one page and cover five things: the problem, the proposed rule, what it costs, when it starts and the decision you need. Copy the template below and fill in the bracketed parts.
TO: [Superintendent / Director of Education / Chair of Governors]. FROM: [Name, Principal, School]. DATE: [Date]. RE: Recommendation to adopt a bell-to-bell student phone policy from [term/year]. RECOMMENDATION: That [school/district] adopts a policy requiring student phones and personal smart devices to be switched off and stored from the first bell to the last, including breaks and lunch, from [start date]. DECISION REQUESTED: Approval of the policy and of [budget amount] for storage and implementation at the [date] meeting.
THE PROBLEM: [Summarise local evidence: staff time spent on device incidents, behaviour and bullying reports involving phones, teacher survey results.] Our current rule allows phones in bags and pockets, which means staff enforce it lesson by lesson. International evidence points the same way: the OECD's PISA 2022 results link digital distraction in lessons to lower maths scores, and UNESCO's 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report recommends that technology in classrooms be used only where it supports learning. COMPLIANCE: [State the national, state or provincial rule that applies and its deadline, if any.]
THE PROPOSAL: Phones are switched off and stored for the whole school day. Storage method: [lockable pouches kept by each student / lockers / collection]. Exemptions: documented medical needs, disability and learning-plan needs, and staff-approved learning use. Parents contact students through the main office, as they do during exams. COST: [one-time purchase figure] for [number] students, with [no recurring fees / annual fees of X]. TIMELINE: board approval [date], parent communication [date], staff briefing [date], start [date], review after one term.
RISKS AND HOW WE WILL MANAGE THEM: Parent concern about emergencies (letter and FAQ before launch, office contact line). Staff workload (storage method that does not require staff to hold devices). Equity (same rule for every student, school-issued devices for learning where needed). MEASURES: we will report back after the first term on behaviour incidents, staff time on device issues and student and staff survey results. ATTACHMENTS: draft policy, parent letter, research list. Before The Internet sells lockable pouches outright and can supply a written figure for the cost line.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a board memo be?
One page if you can. Put the recommendation and the decision you need at the top, and attach the policy, parent letter and research list.
What evidence should a school phone ban memo cite?
Local data first, such as incident reports and staff time, then national or international sources such as PISA 2022 and UNESCO's 2023 GEM Report. See our research list for more.
What if our jurisdiction already requires a phone ban?
Frame the memo as a compliance plan. Name the rule and its deadline, then ask the board to approve how you will meet it.
Related reading
Phone-free schools toolkit · Bell-to-bell school phone policy template · Parent letter template: school phone policy · Why schools ban phones
Written by the team at Before The Internet, a Toronto-based phone-free company that rents lockable phone pouches for events across North America and sells them to schools and venues worldwide, shipping purchases to any country.
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