CHAPEL HILL, Texas — Pryceless Bonner is a sixth grader at Kissam Intermediate School. On the first day of class, her teacher told her some rules she wasn’t too happy with. Among them, no cell phones allowed.
"My teacher said, we cannot really bring them to school most of the time,” Pryceless said.
She came home and told her mom, Mica Bonner.
"As a mom, I have big problem with that," Bonner said. "Because you know, what happened in Uvalde? That was very tragic and heartbreaking. So, it kind of put a lot of nerves in me.”
This post has been circulating online after a fifth grade teacher sent it out to her class.
Kissam Principal Bethany Moody said it’s missing some context.
“The intent is not to keep cell phones out of the campus, that's not our intent," Moody said. "Our intent is to bring an awareness for cell phones that are requested to be on campus, and then to create an agreement around proper use.”
The policy on Kissam Intermediate’s website states “parents may send cell phones with a note to the teacher if desired or required for safety or medical purposes.”
Mica Bonner sent her note almost immediately.
"Things are good now, so she can bring her phone to school," Bonner said.
Consequences for breaking the policy start with a warning. After that, the phone can be taken and a parent would need to pay $15 to pick it up.
“We don't just say come and get the phone," Moody said. "We then have, just as other principals are doing, another conversation that says 'hey, this is proper guidelines.'”
Parents with more questions about the policy should reach out to the school directly.
Kissam will also host an open house on Sept. 27.