Reporting Year:     2025/2026
District/BOCES: Ulster BOCES
Date Published: September 1, 2026

Policy Overview

Here is our distraction-free schools policy, including grades covered, devices covered, enforcement expectations, and any notable implementation details.

Enforcement Summary

Demographic Analysis

Provide non-identifiable demographic information regarding students who faced disciplinary action for noncompliance with the policy.

Findings and Interpretation

Describe trends observed in the data, identify any disparities, discuss possible contributing factors, and explain how the district/BOCES will continue monitoring enforcement practices.

The demographic analysis indicates that disciplinary practices were generally proportionate to student enrollment for most demographic groups. The differences between enrollment and the percentage of students disciplined were relatively small for female students (2 percentage points), male students (2 percentage points), economically disadvantaged students (4 percentage points), Black/African American students (1 percentage point), Hispanic/Latino students (4 percentage points), Asian students (1 percentage point), and multiracial students (3 percentage points). These differences do not, by themselves, indicate a significant disparity in disciplinary enforcement.

The most notable difference in the data is among students with disabilities, who represent 68% of enrollment but account for 100% of the students disciplined, resulting in a 32-percentage-point difference. However, a review of the circumstances surrounding these incidents provides important context for interpreting this finding. The majority of phone-related violations involving students with disabilities occurred in situations where the student was experiencing a separate issue that prompted the student to contact home, seek support, or retreat to their phone. In these cases, the phone violation was often connected to an underlying situation rather than being an isolated refusal to follow the phone policy.

This context is important because the disciplinary data alone do not fully capture the circumstances surrounding each incident. Students may have used their phones as a coping mechanism, to contact a parent or guardian, or to disengage from a situation that they were having difficulty managing. Consequently, the higher percentage of disciplinary incidents involving students with disabilities should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that these students were disproportionately targeted for phone violations. At the same time, the difference warrants continued review to ensure that staff responses appropriately distinguish between intentional policy violations and situations in which a student is experiencing a separate need or concern.

Ulster BOCES will continue to examine disciplinary incidents involving students with disabilities in greater detail, including the behavior that preceded the phone violation, the reason the student accessed the phone, whether the student was attempting to contact a parent or guardian, the support offered at the time, and the disciplinary response that followed. This review will help determine whether additional preventative strategies, behavioral supports, staff guidance, or alternative responses may be appropriate.

The data also suggest that continued attention should be given to the purpose and circumstances of student phone use. When a student uses a phone in response to a behavioral, emotional, academic, or other concern, staff should consider the underlying issue while maintaining consistent expectations regarding the phone policy. Where appropriate, staff can redirect the student toward established support systems and approved methods of contacting parents or guardians.

Overall, the data show a notable difference in the percentage of disciplinary incidents involving students with disabilities; however, the circumstances surrounding those incidents provide important explanatory context. Ulster BOCES will continue to monitor enforcement practices by reviewing both quantitative discipline data and the circumstances associated with individual incidents. This approach will allow the Ulster BOCES to identify potential patterns of disproportionality while also ensuring that disciplinary decisions are fair, consistent, supportive, and responsive to the individual needs and circumstances of students.

Statistical Significance Determination

Was a statistically significant disparate impact identified?

☐ Yes      ✔No

Mitigation Action Plan (Complete Only if Required)

Board/Administrative Certification

I certify that this report has been reviewed and published in accordance with the requirements of New York State Education Law regarding distraction-free schools policy enforcement reporting.