In the wake of Bullard High School’s controversial move to ban student cellphones, the community still has many questions with the 2022-23 school year already underway. When does the ban actually start? How will it work? How will parents contact their students in an emergency?

The Education Lab has compiled a list of questions and answers based on conversations with Bullard Principal Armen Torigian and Fresno Unified leadership.

Is the Bullard administration backing down?

No, they’re not.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m apologetic,” Torigian said. “I’m sure I could have rolled it out differently, but the hard part is (that) it’s at the beginning of the school year. I really don’t want to continue to delay on this.”

Torigian is, however, pushing back implementation to get more feedback from the community.

He said he’s planning to assemble a group of a few teachers, parents and students and to “get them in a room” early next week.

“I want them to have some say on how we implement, how we roll out. I also want them in the conversation with Yondr,” which is the company providing the pouches in which students will lock their cell phones each day, Torigian said.

Will the ban still start Sept. 1?

No. A back-to-school packet sent out to Bullard families listed Sept. 1 as a target date for implementation.

Now, the administration is pushing that back by at least a few weeks to gather more community input. Torigian said it’s still safe to say the policy will begin this semester, but no new official date has been announced.

Will families still be able to contact their students during the day?

Yes, but perhaps not the same way as before.

Rather than contacting students on their cellphones, parents and guardians are encouraged to call Bullard’s front office, according to an Aug. 12 news release from Fresno Unified.

Torigian said Bullard is working on ensuring they have sufficient staff to screen a potential uptick in calls.

In addition, district leaders have stressed that FUSD is a “1:1 device district,” meaning that all students have a district-issued laptop available to them each day where families may also email their students.

Torigian said he hopes this will help students get into the habit of checking their email in preparation for the professional world.

Can students break their pouches under any circumstances?

Yes, but only in an emergency.

“In the event Yondr pouches are in use during an emergency, pouches are allowed to be damaged or destroyed to reach their cell phone at no cost to the student,” a news release said.

Outside of that, a Bullard back-to-school packet outlined what will happen if “the physical integrity of the pouch has been compromised, whether intentional, as determined by the school or Yondr staff.”

“The student’s phone will be confiscated by the school,” the packet indicates. “The student’s parent/guardian must come to the school to pick up their child’s phone,” and pay a $20 replacement fee.

The student will be allowed to bring their phone back to school once the fee has been paid.

Will every teacher be able to unlock the pouches?

Probably not every teacher. Torigian said the administration plans to present the option to teachers to have a handheld device to unlock pouches in their classrooms, but he doesn’t expect all teachers will opt for it.

Instead, Torigian anticipates the responsibility will fall on Bullard’s vice principals and campus assistants to unlock phones for students.

So how will students get their phones unlocked, then?

Torigian said that there will be “20 or so” stations around campus where students can get their phones unlocked when they’re leaving at the end of the day.

The stations will be “strategically” placed around the exits of Bullard’s campus — including the main exits onto Barstow, Browning and Paul.

”It’s not like you can only go to one place, and click there, and it’s going to take God knows how long,” he said. “There are going to be multiple unlocking mechanisms in multiple different stations that lead to the exits of our school.”

If a student needs to be excused from school early for an appointment or athletic event, Torigian said there will other protocols in place.

“They can walk to the main office — the main office will always have one (unlocking device). They can go to the counseling office — they’ll always have one or two,” he said. “They go to the locker room and they change and as they’re going to the bus, a campus assistant or their coach or a VP will meet them at the bus and they can unlock as we’re walking onto the bus.”

Is this a district-wide policy?

No, Bullard’s cellphone ban isn’t coming to other schools.

“As a district, Fresno Unified is not implementing or requiring the use of Yondr cell phone pouches. However, the district supports the leadership and expertise of each of our principals to make the best decisions for their school communities,” a district news release said.

The pouches were already in use at two other Fresno Unified schools — Phoenix Secondary and Cambridge schools — prior to this year, district spokesperson Nikki Henry said in an Aug. 12 email to the Ed Lab.

Why didn’t the policy come before the school board?

Henry told the Ed Lab that the “bid limit for non-federal materials and supply purchases is currently $99,100 in the state of California.”

“An item can be purchased up to this amount without the requirement of a formal bid and does not require board approval, however every (Purchase Order) we issue does go to the board for review via monthly PO ratification reports,” she said.

In the case of the Yondr pouches — which she confirmed cost $44,908, including shipping and taxes.

Yondr had also already gone through the FUSD Purchasing Department’s approval process when Phoenix Secondary and Cambridge started using the pouches.

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The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.