As with "sexting" 15 years ago, schools must contend with specific behaviors that cause specific harms, but the focus has expanded beyond how students use their phones to broader concerns about how much they use them.
Stamford Board of Education adopted a policy in summer 2022 restricting cellphone use during instructional time. High schools will introduce a progressive discipline protocol for those who violate the policy.
Boston Public Schools is rolling out new technology that will allow parents to track school bus rides in real time through a mobile app and GPS navigation tablets on board.
Kids and adults alike seem to understand that the rapid change in cellphone use post-COVID has not been good for them, but they don't agree on exactly how to change the rules to make them work for everyone.
The South Carolina Department of Education is expected to draft a model cellphone policy in August. Many students at schools that have already piloted cellphone restrictions were pleasantly surprised at their effect.
School districts and state and local governments across the U.S. have been approving policies restricting student cellphone use in class. Many teachers are desperate for the help, and some have already seen improvements.
After KIPP NYC College Prep restricted smartphone use in class, AP test scores increased, grades bounced back to pre-pandemic averages, and attendance at sporting events and other activities jumped by 50 percent.
Officials in Middletown, N.J., have proposed a policy banning smartphone use in classrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms and most spaces outside of high school free periods, as a statewide ban is discussed.
A new bill offers grant funding to purchase smartphone bags for schools that prohibit the use of cellphones during the school day. A statewide prohibition on student cellphone use during school is also in the works.
Amid the national conversation about whether cellphones belong in schools, a recent high school graduate from North Carolina defends them as tools for lonely students to find and connect with like-minded peers.
