District news
District adopts detailed regulation implementing bell-to-bell student device restrictions
What happened
A newly adopted regulation (R 5516) spells out grade-by-grade rules banning student use of internet-enabled devices during the school day for all K-12 students, with specific storage requirements and a graduated discipline system (verbal warnings escalating to daily device check-in and possible suspension for repeated violations).
Why it matters to families
This operationalizes a bell-to-bell personal device restriction across all schools with concrete, escalating disciplinary consequences for students, directly affecting daily routines and discipline for every family in the district.
The evidence
Regulation R 5516 'Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices' details K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 rules prohibiting internet-enabled device use on school grounds during the school day, storage requirements, and a five-tier progressive discipline schedule culminating in daily device surrender for the remainder of the academic year.
The source
August 25, 2026 BOE Special Meeting Agenda — linked attachment 38See the full record for Madison Public Schools.
Get alerts like this for Madison Public Schools
We read every agenda, packet, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from, the moment it's public.
Get personalized alerts