By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com


At its meeting last week the Brighton Board of Education approved some changes in student handbooks for the 2020-21 school year.

Brighton High School grade level principal Matt Evans, who led a committee which developed the handbook changes, says they are “going on the assumption that (students are) back in the classroom” for the 20-21 academic year. One of the major changes in the revised handbook is that only two online classes will be allowed unless the student gets prior approval from administration. Formerly, from 1 to 6 online classes were allowed for each student. Evans says that administration “reserves the right to deny an online course,” especially if the student previously failed an online class.

The board also approved the district’s cell phone policy. The 2019-20 year was the first in which a formal cell phone policy was in place Each classroom is to have cell phone holders and students are required to place their cell phones in the holders when they first enter the class The idea is to keep the cell phones out of the students’ hands when they are in the classroom.

Saturday classes will continue in place for students involved in repeated minor violations. The high school reserves one classroom once a month for Saturday classes, which are three hours in length. The 20-21 handbooks are to be posted online, and Evans says students will also be able to obtain student agendas, also known as planners, online.