Concord-Carlisle School Committee suspends cell phone survey, awaits state policy mandate

CARLISLE — April 14, 2026 — Concord-Carlisle School Committee shelves cell phone survey as state mandate nears. The joint Concord-Carlisle Regional School Committee voted at its April 14 Zoom meeting to suspend work on a community cell phone survey and hold off on drafting a local policy, citing the rapid advance of state legislation requiring DESE to produce a model policy for implementation by September 2026. Superintendent Lori Hunter noted that neither DESE nor MASC has issued guidance since the House passed a revised bill adding a social media component, and said districts without their own policy will default to the state version. "Whatever the state tells us to do, we're going to do," said Committee Chair Tracy Watterson. The committee also received word that a $175,000 state grant funded through the Fair Share Act — secured after an emergency same-day submission coordinated by member Brian Williams and Watterson — will offset costs for the school's long-planned restroom building, without changing the amounts sought at Concord's April 28 town meeting or Carlisle's subsequent annual town meeting.