On Tuesday, June 16, The Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) Board of Trustees gathered for its first summer meeting before the upcoming 2026–27 school year to discuss a plethora of topics and changes at its various schools and sites.

At the meeting, the Board of Trustees had its first reading of the updated Board Policy (BP) 5131.8 on mobile communication devices for the upcoming school year. The policy came after a board ruling for phone-free schools and the implementation of Nukase lockable phone cases for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Courtney Goode presented the updated policy to the trustees.

“This is a first read … for the new mobile communication device policy, following the board’s adoption of a phone-free policy for the next school year,” Goode said during the meeting. “I don’t think anybody was [saying], ‘Yay, this is great,’ but there [was] … a consensus recognition that this is … a necessary step to take.”

The updated draft includes recognitions that the use of mobile devices is “disruptive” to education and “harmful to the social health” of students. The policy outlines that students will not be allowed to use their devices from the beginning to the end of the school day, including lunch and breaks.

The board policy also outlined the disciplinary measures for students. The policy will require that students who don’t have a cell phone or don’t bring a cell phone to school must sign a waiver attesting to this. Furthermore, if a student is found with a mobile device, the device will be confiscated and turned over to the principal – in which case a parent or guardian may be notified – or given back to the student “as appropriate.”

Board President Cynthia Roenisch raised concerns facing potential protests from students in the district about the new policy. According to Goode, if a student breaks the Nukase phone cases, “they will be charged for it.”

The mobile communication devices board policy will be adjusted and discussed again at the next board meeting on Tuesday, June 23.

The Board also discussed and approved the second draft of BP 5131.9 on academic honesty for district-wide implementation during the meeting. The policy details the district’s disciplinary system in the instance of a student caught participating in academically dishonest practices that violate the policy. Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Kelly Lara explained the changes made to the policy from teacher feedback during the first read.

“After the first read, we met with our [TUHSD] Leadership Council, as well as with various other staff members who gave us feedback on our policy, and so we made the following adjustments to include the feedback that we received,” Lara said during the meeting.

In the three-level disciplinary system, which progressively increases punishment for academic dishonesty depending on the number and severity of a student’s offenses, Lara and other administrators adjusted three different areas to address feedback from teachers and staff in the district.

“We removed the line that indicated that students can resubmit their work. We received feedback from staff that that is not in the best interest of students’ learning and demonstrating integrity, so students will not be permitted the opportunity to resubmit the work in Level 3,” Lara said during the meeting. “We [also] removed the language that stated that letters of recommendation can be denied. Teachers are never obligated to write a letter of recommendation, so including that is misleading.”

Lara additionally noted that if any violation occurs that includes alteration, falsification or theft of any records or assessments, the violation level will automatically be elevated to the next level and the student will be suspended or given an alternative suspension.

BP 5131.9 on academic honesty will be implemented for the upcoming school year, but BP 5131.8 on mobile devices is yet to be ratified. The Board will take another look at another revision of the mobile device policy before it is fully approved for the 2026–27 school year at the next board meeting on Tuesday.