While cellphone insubordination isn’t a surprising discipline issue the Warren County R-III School District is facing, given the new state law that went into effect at the start of the school year, there are some other eyebrow-raising concerns.
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While cellphone insubordination isn’t a surprising discipline issue the Warren County R-III School District is facing, given the new state law that went into effect at the start of the school year, there are some other eyebrow-raising concerns.
At the November board meeting, Assistant Superintendent Brad Ross presented an executive summary to the board on student, staff, and school safety.
He highlighted the district’s discipline issues by the number of instances.
In the first quarter of the 2025-26 school year, the district recorded 253 instances of cellphone insubordination.
“The No. 1 issue we’ve seen, unsurprisingly, is insubordination that deals with the cell phone,” Ross said. “State law has made it so that there are no cell phones, and that is our No. 1 (discipline issue) across the district.”
After that, the district handled 175 truancy cases in the first quarter.
Next came 138 instances of physical aggression/dangerous behavior, 108 instances of disruption of curricular activity and 97 discipline cases for tardiness.
Ross made a special note of the cases involving physical aggression/dangerous behavior.
“There seems to be an increase in physical aggression over the previous year,” Ross said. “(Most) interestingly about that is that 60 percent of that is in grades K-2, which is not what I would expect. Forty percent is in kindergarten. Preschool options in our county have been limited, so I wonder if it is a delay in socialization. (Remedying that discipline issue) is an absolute priority.”
He added that while cellphone discipline is the top category by number, he feels good about the direction the issue is trending.
“The cell phone issue at the high school is not a widespread problem,” Ross said. “We’re seeing a limited number of individuals who continue to get into trouble for that. That’s why we’ve seen the overall number of referrals drop. That is an encouraging trend.”
The district is analyzing the numbers to meet a new CSIP goal for discipline.
R-III uses a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS), specifically the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework, to address student behavior. The referral process progresses through Tiers 1-3, becoming more intensive and individualized with
each tier. Tier 1 is universal support for all students, Tier 2 includes targeted intervention, and Tier 3 provides intensive individualized support.
The stated CSIP goal is that ‘Warren County R-3 schools will decrease the number of students who exceed Tier 1 (0-2 referrals) in the first quarter and then receive three or more referrals in the second quarter by at least 1% annually.’
Ross added that action steps to meet the new CSIP goal include regular monthly meetings with district staff and building representatives, and the formation of staff committees to support Tier 1 and Tier 2 students with necessary interventions.
“We look at trends, and then they take that discussion back to their buildings,” Ross said. “They meet with Tier 2 and Tier 3 committees and they try to create action plans specific to their buildings.”
While behavior modification is important, Ross added that prevention is just as crucial for reducing negative student behaviors.
He said that, rather than focusing solely on negative behavior, it’s important to note and praise positive behaviors.
“We want to celebrate positivity as one of the main drivers in our discipline program,” Ross said. “The elementary schools have a very strong PBIS tradition. BHMS (Blackhawk Middle School) is trying to use advisory time and house family time to reinforce expectations. At the high school level, there is a very deliberate effort to increase recognition of doing the right thing.”
