Student Device
Usage Agreement

Support, not
punishment

The Student Device Usage Agreement is a tiered intervention framework for students who have demonstrated a persistent inability to manage their devices during class time, despite standard classroom interventions. It is a formal, tripartite agreement signed by the student, their parents or guardians, and the Student Wellbeing Coordinator — framed explicitly as a support structure, not a disciplinary measure.

Habit, not defiance

Device misuse in classrooms is rarely a simple rule-following problem. It is often symptomatic of habit, anxiety, or an underdeveloped capacity for self-regulation — none of which are addressed by repeated teacher reminders alone. The agreement creates a consistent, school-wide pathway for escalating support that involves families and gives students a clear structure to work within, while removing the burden of repeated, often ineffective individual teacher interventions.

The system is only triggered after standard classroom management strategies have been attempted without resolution — ensuring that it functions as a genuine last resort, not a first response.

Three tiers, one
clear pathway

The rollout followed three phases: drafting the framework, seeking administrative approval, and briefing faculty and families — ensuring the system was school-sanctioned and consistently understood by all stakeholders before any students were referred.

CASEL & PERMA

The agreement is grounded in the CASEL competency of Self-Management — specifically impulse control and the development of self-discipline as a skill rather than an expectation. The structure treats device management as something to be learned with support, not enforced through escalating consequences alone. Within PERMA, reducing device-driven distraction creates the conditions for genuine Engagement and the experience of flow in the classroom — which is where deeper learning and wellbeing intersect.