We want to let you know about communication changes USD 379 will implement to comply with Kansas House Bill 2299 (cell phone and social media communication bill), which took effect July 1, 2026. In response to this legislation, USD 379 will be making the following policy changes for the 2026-27 school year:
PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Based on the new Kansas law, all student personal electronic communication devices will be “inaccessible from bell to bell”.
In accordance with Kansas law, this includes during lunch and passing periods
This includes phones, tablets, watches, and wireless headphones not distributed by 379
Students will have 2 options regarding these devices:
Keep devices at home or in their vehicle
Purchase a district-issued Yondr storage pouch for a one-time $30 rental fee and keep all personal electronic devices in it during the school day
PARENTSQUARE
We are excited to move to ParentSquare as our sole district-wide communication platform. This move brings all school, district, classroom, athletics, and club communications into one place while also satisfying the new legal requirements. We feel there will be many benefits to you as parents:
ONE platform for ALL schools, classrooms, teams, and organizations
Both parents and students can still receive all notifications even if they don’t have a social media account, such as Facebook
Parents can choose to receive information via email, text, and/or app notifications. Another benefit to setting up your own account is you can control if your notifications are instant, digested or turned off.
If you don’t sign up for the app, you will still receive the notifications via email at the end of each day.
Parents can send direct messages to teachers, coaches, activity sponsors, etc.
You can also reply to messages, fill out forms, view photos, and manage notification preferences.
All USD 379 emergency alerts will override settings and come to you via notifications.
SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION
The new legislation also requires school districts to limit social media to one-way communication with students. This means:
Staff will not communicate with students through social media or text. District email and ParentSquare are both acceptable forms of communication between staff and students. The intent of this law was to protect both students and staff by steering conversations toward district-controlled platforms where messages are monitored and archived.
Only building-level social media accounts will be used to post information in the future, including:
All other classroom, club, organization, activity, athletic team, and staff-operated social media pages will be discontinued.
Official building-level social media accounts will also no longer respond to any student comments or messages
WHAT DO PARENTS NEED TO DO?
By default, parents will receive messages (like this one) if you are listed in PowerSchool as having custody of the child. However, you can also create a user account at www.parentsquare.com or download the ParentSquare app in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Please also be on the lookout for an invitation to join ParentSquare... coming soon!
QUESTIONS?
That was a lot of information! Please email Communication Coordinator Matt Weller at mattweller@usd379.org if you have any questions.