Tam High's first full week under a bell-to-bell phone policy

What's happening: More than a week into Tamalpais Union High School District's new phone-free school day, Tam High families are getting their first real look at how it runs in practice.

It wasn't frictionless. Nanea Meyer, a Tam Valley parent, told the Briefing her son, who has no seventh period, waited an estimated 35 to 45 minutes in the office line to unlock his phone case that first week, a range he arrived at using the class bell schedule as a reference point.

Adam, a Mill Valley parent whose son was in the same situation, said the line stayed long for several days, until his son told him this Friday that the district began issuing "free 7th" stickers, letting any teacher, not just one arranged in advance, unlock a case for a student without a last period.

Why it matters: TUHSD's board voted 3-2 on April 14 to enact the phone-free policy and direct staff to move immediately on implementation, according to board meeting minutes reviewed by the Briefing. It came a month before the U.S. Surgeon General formally recommended the same bell-to-bell model in a May advisory on the harms of screen use to children. The policy took effect under a 2024 California law, the Phone-Free School Act, which requires every district in the state to adopt a phone policy by July 1 of this year.

A survey of 117 Tam High students conducted by classmate Maja Karolak, published as a Marin Voice column in the Marin Independent Journal this spring, found nearly two-thirds expected to dislike the incoming policy, while fewer than one in ten called it a good idea outright.

The context: The district told the Briefing it has spent $103,346.32 on NuKase locking cases so far and expects no meaningful ongoing annual cost, since the cases are built to last several years. The district also told the Briefing that 2% of families district-wide have filed the no-device waiver, which requires confirming a child doesn't bring a phone to campus at all.

The debate: A review of local social media discussion by the Briefing found reaction largely supportive of the concept while critical of the rollout, a split that echoes the national debate over these policies. Karolak's IJ piece described one root of that tension directly: she reported that Superintendent Courtney Goode met with student leaders last spring to discuss concerns about off-campus lunch access and emergency communication, the same two issues still coming up now.

Meyer said her son noticed some students found ways around the case in the first week, including a few who signed the no-device waiver and then used a phone at school anyway. The district confirmed it's aware students are attempting to bypass the cases and follows up individually with families, since doing so is a policy violation.

One of those recurring concerns - what happens to phone access during a lockdown or evacuation - has a clear answer at TUHSD. Its full policy states that teachers won't delay evacuating a classroom to unlock phones, and that unlocking happens only once students reach a secure location, with staff bringing an unlocking device along.

What's next: A public petition from an Archie Williams student raised a separate concern this month, that the medical exemption case can jam and become difficult to use. The district told the Briefing this isn't a known issue but said the question prompted it to look into it. The Briefing plans to keep checking in as the policy's first month continues.

On August 25, 1900, voters streamed into the upstairs hall at Grethel's Bakery - today's 18 Miller Avenue, the sole polling place - to decide whether Mill Valley would govern itself. With voting restricted to male citizens, the result was 99 for incorporation and 63 against. Seven days later Mill Valley received its charter as the Town of Mill Valley. It would not become a city until 1935.

The debate had been running since at least February 1899 - eighteen months before the vote. The Sausalito News reported that "the boats and trains are a-buzz upon the subject, grown men are discussing the knotty question, and even our school boys can tell you all about it." The paper was skeptical: "Would the game be worth the candle?"

The trigger came on May 8, 1900, when the Tamalpais Land and Water Company sent a letter to property holders saying it would no longer maintain the roads, despite promising to do so for 25 years from May 1, 1890. Opponents called this a betrayal. Supporters saw incorporation as the only way to control the saloons that had proliferated since the courts struck down the company's prohibition clause.

The first public meeting to consider incorporation was, by the anti-incorporationists' account, "palpably programmed." By their account, chairs were filled before discussion could begin. A man named D.H. Bibb disrupted the proceedings and forced a more deliberative process. The campaign that followed was fierce enough that both sides purchased and destroyed copies of opposing newspapers to prevent them from reaching voters.

Fifty years later, in September 1950, Mill Valley threw itself a golden anniversary party - a children's parade down Locust, square dancing in Lytton Square, a 150-pound birthday cake. The guests of honor were residents who had lived in Mill Valley for fifty years or more, people who had been there for the vote in 1900. They were driven to Lytton Square in convertibles and introduced to the crowd by the chairman of the county board of supervisors.

The Mill Valley Record called it "a memorable occasion in the history of Mill Valley regardless of what is worn."

Sources: Mill Valley Record, Aug 31, 1950; Sausalito News, Feb 4, 1899, Feb 11, 1899, Jun 30, 1900, Aug 25, 1900; Mill Valley Historical Society, Mill Valley Incorporates (Curt Oldenburg, July 2025).

Mill Valley has been monitoring its Flock Safety camera program on an ongoing basis, and at the last city council meeting, City Manager Todd Cusimano told the council "there's issues with the contract that we're concerned about."

Cusimano said he expects an answer from Flock on requested contract changes within two weeks, with a recommendation coming back to council in September on whether to continue the current two-year contract until its renewal date in February 2027 or end it early.

The push for changes comes as Flock has rolled out new capabilities and industry-wide policy shifts since Mill Valley signed its original agreement in February 2025. Councilmember Urban Carmel said the city has since secured a new attestation from Flock on data ownership, access control, and machine learning use.

Two residents used public comment that night to raise questions about the program. One resident, Jeremy Revitch, has been raising concerns about the program with the city, and Carmel thanked him at the meeting for “looking out for the community in Mill Valley” and said the city has been in regular contact with him.

Vice Mayor Caroline Joachim, who has worked most closely with Revitch and Flock on the issue, told the Briefing the city is approaching the negotiations "from the premise that public safety and privacy are not competing values. We have an obligation to protect both."

She called the two-week window "a negotiation and accountability window" testing whether Flock will put its privacy commitments "into enforceable terms." If it does, she said, the council could consider "a limited program under those terms." If not, "the City should be prepared to suspend the program and consider alternatives."

Monday, August 31

🎭 Window on the Work: The White Chip, Mill Valley Public Library, 6:30–8pm. Go behind the scenes of Marin Theatre’s production with an insider look into the design, casting, and rehearsal process in the Creekside Room. Free entry; registration required.

Tuesday, September 1

🎨 First Tuesday Artwalk, Downtown Mill Valley & Surrounding Venues, 5:30-7:30pm. Monthly self-guided community gallery walk and artists' receptions hosted by the Mill Valley Arts Commission. Highlights include Sterling Sam's Koi at Depot Plaza, group sculpture and photo exhibits at O’Hanlon Center (5:30–7pm), Kathleen Lipinski at Throckmorton Theatre (5–7pm) and more. Free and open to all.

🎭 The White Chip, Marin Theatre, 7:30pm (Wed-Sat, 7:30pm; Sat-Sun, 2pm). Sean Daniels’s candid and witty "recovery comedy" continues at 397 Miller Ave. Recommended for ages 13+; pay-what-you-can admission available for anyone in recovery.

🎭 Tuesday Night Comedy, Throckmorton Theatre, 8–10pm. Weekly curated stand-up comedy showcase featuring Bay Area headliners and touring talent at 142 Throckmorton Ave. Doors open at 7:30pm.

Wednesday, September 2

📚 First Wednesday: The Marinaissance with David Perlis, Mill Valley Public Library, 6:30–8pm. Author David Perlis explores Marin County's post-WWII cultural explosion and global influence in the Creekside Room at 375 Throckmorton Ave. Free entry; registration required.

Thursday, September 3

🧠 Trivia Night, The Depot Cafe and Bookstore, 5:30pm. Gather your team for live quiz rounds and prizes on the downtown plaza at 87 Throckmorton Ave. Free entry; all ages welcome.

📖 Poems That Carry Belonging, Mill Valley Public Library, 6–8pm. Award-winning poets Francesca Bell, Lee Herrick, and Albert Flynn DeSilver read and discuss memory, identity, and home in the Creekside Room. Free entry; registration required.

Friday, September 4

🎸 John Pearce & Musical Feast, The Depot Cafe and Bookstore, 5:30pm. Live outdoor alt-country, folk, and classic rock on the plaza at 87 Throckmorton Ave. Free entry; open to all ages.

🎸 The Edge: 40th Anniversary Party plus Jimmy Dillon’s 75th Birthday Celebration, Sweetwater Music Hall, 8pm. A milestone rock 'n' roll celebration at 19 Corte Madera Ave. All ages; doors open at 7pm.

Saturday, September 5

🎭 William Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, Old Mill Park Amphitheatre, 2–4:30pm (Sun, 2pm). Curtain Theatre presents live, open-air Shakespeare amidst the redwoods behind the library at 64 Cascade Dr. Free admission; bring a low chair or blanket.

🎸 Acoustic Son, The Depot Cafe and Bookstore, 5:30pm. Live outdoor acoustic set on the downtown plaza at 87 Throckmorton Ave. Free entry; all ages welcome.

🎸 The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band with Hames, Sweetwater Music Hall, 8pm. High-energy fingerpicking country blues and roots rock at 19 Corte Madera Ave. All ages; doors open at 7pm.

🎷 Mariah Parker’s Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble, Throckmorton Theatre, 8–10pm. A fusion of Latin jazz, Eastern music, and flamenco featuring Mariah Parker, Matthew Montfort, Ruth Ahlers, Jim Hurley, Sascha Jacobsen, Kendrick Freeman, and Michaelle Goerlitz at 142 Throckmorton Ave.

Sunday, September 6

☀️ Moonalice Sunday Matinee, Sweetwater Music Hall, 1pm. Psychedelic soul and roots rock midday session at 19 Corte Madera Ave. All ages; doors open at 12pm.

🎸 Clinton Fearon with Iriefuse, Sweetwater Music Hall, 8pm. Reggae legend Clinton Fearon performs live roots reggae at 19 Corte Madera Ave. All ages; doors open at 7pm.

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