“We’re anticipating Georgia will pass a law,” she says. “In Wisconsin, the legislation says school districts need to have something on the books.” She mentions that, while working for a Wisconsin school district in 2010, she helped develop a cellphone policy that “defined acceptable instructional use of cellphones.”
“Obviously, things have changed since then,” she adds.
Today, K–12 leaders are looking for solutions that keep students off their phones while ensuring parents can reach their children if necessary. Schools are investing in products such as Cellairis phone pouches to meet these needs.
CoSN 2025’s spotlight session will examine the intersections of digital citizenship and school policies, led by Merve Lapus, vice president of education outreach and engagement at Common Sense Media.
Increasing Data Privacy in K–12 Schools
A common theme in CoSN’s State of EdTech District Leadership and Driving K–12 Innovation reports is the importance of cybersecurity to K–12 stakeholders. Under the umbrella of cybersecurity sits data privacy.
“If you don’t protect your student data, you’re subject to more cyberattacks,” Mertes notes.
Sessions around cybersecurity and data privacy at this year’s conference include:
- “Attacks Against Cloud Services - What You Need to Know”
- “Quick Wins: Cybersecurity Scalable Solutions for Districts of Any Size”
- “Navigating Cybersecurity in the Age of Generative AI”
- “We Survived a Cyber Incident: From Readiness to Recovery”
In addition to having more conversations about data privacy, states are partnering with CoSN to bring its Trusted Learning Environment Seal to their districts. Networking opportunities at this year’s conference will allow K–12 IT leaders from across the country to compare notes and share best practices pertaining to these initiatives, among other popular topics.
“They’re talking a lot about leadership capacity as school districts work on leadership development,” Mertes says. “CoSN benefits that development.”
Keep this page bookmarked to catch all of our CoSN2025 coverage, and follow us on the social platform X @EdTech_K12 for behind-the-scenes looks using the hashtag #CoSN2025.
