iPods and “heelys” have been added to the list of banned itemsfor students in county schools for the instructional year thatbegins next week.

iPods are gaining in popularity and have been creeping into theclassrooms, where they have become a distraction to learning, saidLincoln County School District Superintendent Terry Brister.

“Heelys,” tennis shoes equipped with wheels, have also beenbanned from campus, he said.

However, the footwear was banned because it could pose a safetyrisk rather than a distraction. Brister cited the potential forcollisions with other students or other obstacles on campus aspotential sources of injury in the decision to ban the popularshoes.

The two items join a list of banned items that includes cellulartelephones, beepers, laser lights, electronic games, tape players,radios and other handheld electronic devices.

Lea Barrett, superintendent of the Brookhaven Public SchoolDistrict, said the district has not banned “heelys,” but added thepossibility always exist if students abuse school privileges.

“It’s not in our dress code at this point, but it could be addedif it becomes an issue,” she said.

iPods, however, would fall under an existing policy thatexcludes handheld electronic devices from city campuses, Barrettsaid.

“Every year there is a new device so (our policy) is broadenough to cover them all,” she said.

The wide-reaching policy was instituted at least five years agoto address the surge of cellular phones on campus, Barrett said.The ban has limited cell phone abuse on campus, but has notcompletely curbed it.

“We have cell phone problems every year and confiscate severaluntil the end of the year,” she said.

Brister agreed.

“I can understand a parent wanting their child to have one forsafety reasons when they’re away from home, but we don’t need it ina school setting,” he said.

Parents can always call the school in an emergency situation toreach their child, the superintendents said.

Cell phones, they said, are the source of several distractions.Not only do students attempt to use them to talk to friends duringclass, but now they can access the Internet, play music, takepictures and play games – all of which are potential distractions.In addition, the advent of texting has added a new dimension ofpossible abuse – cheating.

The state has “harsh” penalties for students caught with anycommunications device during testing, Barrett said. Not only doesit invalidate their scores, which could prevent a senior fromgraduating with their class, but it places them under immediatesuspicion of cheating and initiates an investigation.

In addition, there is a remote safety factor to consider,Barrett said, citing lessons learned from the war in Iraq. In theevent of a real bomb threat, cell phones can actually set off adevice.

The odds of that occurring are very slim, however, and the realsource of the ban is an attempt to save instructional time, Bristersaid. The less distractions a student faces the better chance theyhave of absorbing the information they will need for their future,he said.