Mineola students will see a new cell phone ban and potential days off for extreme heat when they return to the classroom next month.
The board discussed their version of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s newly adopted statewide cell phone ban, which mandates that students either leave their personal cell phones, laptops, internet-enabled watches and other devices in their lockers or at home for the entirety of the school day at its July 31 meeting. The one exception to the policy is if an internet-enabled device is necessary to a student’s healthcare or assisted learning plans, including IEP or 504 plans.
“You can’t have them out. You can’t use it during lunch. You can’t use it during passing periods,” Superintendent Michael Nagler said. “If they’re not locked up in your locker, they will be taken from you, and you can retrieve it at the end of the day.”
Nagler said he disagreed with the governor’s bell-to-bell cell phone ban but would still ensure the district adheres to it.
“I’m not looking forward to this,” he said. “I think it’s kind of silly. We should be teaching children how to use the device appropriately. I also did not buy them for all the children in the district; their parents bought them. So the parents should have some responsibility in teaching children how to use the devices they supplied them more responsibly.”
In the event a student needs to contact a parent or vice versa, communication will be arranged through the school’s main office, classroom intercom or written notes. School-issued devices for instruction will be permitted in classrooms strictly for lessons and will have certain non-educational related functions disabled.
The board also addressed their new extreme heat policy. When the temperature hits 82 degrees Fahrenheit, the schools must turn off overhead lights, close blinds, turn off unused electronic devices, turn on fans and air conditioners where available, open doors and windows (where permitted) and provide students with water breaks.
When the temperature reaches 88 degrees, schools must move students and staff out of hotter classrooms or close the school and send students home early. Nagler called the policy an unfunded state mandate, adding that it would make it difficult for other districts that do not have air conditioning unlike Mineola.
After the policy discussion concluded, the board appointed a range of new administrators, including Amaris Melendez as the new Hampton Street School principal, Jessica Janly as the new Mineola High School dean and Nikole DiFillipi as the new middle school assistant principal.
“We know Amaris. We know her work. I think she’s a perfect fit,” Nagler said of the new elementary principal. “We’re super excited to see her take over the helm of Hampton.”
The board also appointed Jessica Caporuscio as a new chemistry teacher and Sarah Mannino as a new business teacher.
In light of the changes, the board finalized its list of goals for the 2025-26 school year. The slate of seven goals focused on developing student executive functioning skills, media literacy and evidence-based practices, improving access to post-graduating pathways and healthy budgeting that plans for capital reserve funding for construction projects.
To conclude the meeting, Nagler discussed the state of the district’s federal educational title grant funding, which the Trump administration’s Department of Education had frozen in June. In late July, the administration announced it would release over $5 billion in previously frozen funding to states and districts.
The district is slated to receive over $254,000 in funding for language development and early education instruction, enrichment programs, money to close the achievement gap for underprivileged students and other related efforts. Nagler, who emphasized how critical the funding was to the district, called the number a “significant” decrease from last year’s title grant funding.
The district has not yet received the funds, which would be used for the subsequent year’s programs, but Nagler said he believed there would not be any further issues in obtaining them. If there were to be, the district would have to adjust come January, when the budget process ramps up.
The next Mineola Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. in the district’s Synergy building, across from Mineola High School.
