Classes have started at schools in the area, and with the new year beginning, students and educators are getting acclimated to a new set of rules regarding cellphones.

State lawmakers approved a measure that now bans cellphone usage in schools throughout the school day. The law goes into effect Aug. 28, and the Mexico High School staff has been working together to prepare for the change, Superintendent Troy Lentz told the school board at its Aug. 19 meeting. 

“I think it’ll be a good thing for our kids,” he said.

Students at Mexico High School are not permitted to use or display cellphones or other personal electronic communication devices during the school day, with school hours, for this purpose, lasting from 7:45 a.m. (upon entering the building) until 3:15 p.m., according to a superintendents’ report given at the Mexico Public Schools board meeting on Aug.19.  

During this time, the information stated, all cellphones and related devices must be turned off and properly stored, with acceptable storage options including leaving the phones at home, locked in a vehicle or secured in a school locker, the last of which should be conducted upon entering the school building after 7:45 a.m. These are the recommended measures, but students could place phones inside a backpack or bookbag, although that is not recommended. The phones cannot be placed inside clothing that a student wears or be on their person.

“Students are expected to manage their own behavior and resist the temptation to access phones stored in backpacks or lockers,” the information stated. 

The superintendent’s report stated the enforcement protocol for out in the open cellphone possession, with punishment specified for the first offense and for repeated offenses. 

In an interview with the Ledger, Lentz said there’s been “zero change” with cellphone policy at other buildings besides the high school, as cellphones are not allowed to be out in the open during the school day.

Why did it take so long for a cellphone ban?

“I think schools were always responding to it on their own at a local level,” Lentz said, adding he thinks the book “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt pushed that conversation forward to where state legislatures took action.

At the July Van-Far R-I School District Board of Education meeting, regarding the new laws for cellphone usage in schools, Superintendent Natalie Gibson said there should not be much change from what was in the handbooks previously, although there is a change about parents picking up a phone at the school if the student causes a disruption with the phone, which will happen on the first offense. 

“It will just have to be more enforced,” she said about the overall policy. “Students were never supposed to have their  phones out anyway, and that’s how that reads. From the time they enter the building to the time they leave, they should never have their phone visible.”

She said if students need to call their parents, they can use the office phone. Exceptions exist, though, as students who have certain medical conditions - diabetes, for example - can use their phones as necessary. In the email on Aug. 20, she said that it’s more than phones, though, in play here, as it also includes  smart devices, including phones, watches, iPods, earpods and any similar devices. 

“The students seem to have adjusted very quickly and without any issues,” she said in the Aug. 20 email.

Chad Harter, superintendent at Community R-VI Public Schools, said students may bring phones, but they are not to be displayed or used from the time school starts until it ends.  

“We recommend that they are placed in their bag, locker, or vehicle,” he said in an email.

If a student is found to be in possession of a phone out in the open, for the first offense, the phone is surrendered by the student and may be picked up at the end of the day by the student.  

“Any future offenses the parent must pick up the phone after it is surrendered by the student,” Harter said. “The second offense carries a 30-minute detention, a third offense and fourth offense have In School Suspension penalties, and all offenses after that involve Out of School Suspension.”

The school district does have exceptions for medical needs and individual education plans that involve certain technological needs, he said. 

“We also allow personal laptops, which are also on the list of items viewed as ‘Personal Electronic Devices,’ for students that are taking Dual Credit classes involving college credit,” Harter said. “We are able to do that for academic necessity.”

As far as what can be accomplished with the phone ban, educators are looking for this measure “to help us increase interpersonal interactions,” Harter said. 

“We choose not to see this ‘ban’ as a loss so much as to see it as an opportunity,” he said. “We believe that this change is a positive one that will help students socially, academically, and from a standpoint of mental health. Each student in our district will spend 66,500 less minutes with a phone available to them over the course of this year.  They will also have 66,500 more minutes being more willing to engage with a teacher and learn while interacting with their peers. That will have significant impact.”

At North Callaway Public Schools, the district did not have a previous Board of Education policy specifically regarding student use of cell phones, said Niki Buschmann, assistant superintendent, in an email. 

Buildings had practices and established expectations. At the middle school and elementary schools, the expectation was that phones were not visible from the time a student entered the building until after the dismissal bell. At the high school, students were allowed to use their phones during passing periods and at lunch time.

Students may bring their cell phones to school, but they are required to be locked in their lockers or cars. Exceptions to the cell phone ban will be made as outlined in the policy.

The district has formulated a list of consequences for violations of the district policy, including for middle and high school students, and they share some similarities on first, second and third offenses. At the high school level, students face disciplinary action on second and third offenses.

“We believe that eliminating cell phones will lead to greater student engagement and fewer distractions,” Buschmann said. “We hope that it also contributes to increased connection with other students.”