Cell phone policies differ at area schools

Public and private school districts across the country are taking steps to minimize or ban the use of cell phones during the school day, and Jackson County’s school districts are no exception, keeping up with the Kansas State Board of Education’s plan to establish a task force on policy recommendations for non-academic cell phone use in class.

Policies that minimize or ban the use of cell phones in classrooms during the school day are intended to cut down on distractions from educational obligations, lower students’ stress and anxiety levels and generally improve students’ daily engagement with teachers and other students during the school day.

Jackson Heights Middle and High School principal Derek Smith said his school recently adopted an “away for the day” policy, meaning that cell phones are to be off and either in a student’s bag or locker for the entirety of the school day “with no break in between.” A similar policy is in place at the elementary school, it was reported.

Smith said district students and families have had “no problem” with the transition to that policy.

“The scientific data on student screen use and students’ social and emotional well-being was something we could not be bystanders on,” Smith said. “Since implementing the policy with the middle school in the spring semester, we saw an increase in social interaction among the middle school students.”

The “away for the day” policy has also had a positive effect on high school students’ engagement in school life, Smith noted.

In the Royal Valley school district, building policy on cell phones depends on the educational level. Superintendent Aaric Davis said that at the elementary and middle schools, cell phones must stay in students’ backpacks or lockers throughout the entire school day, while at the high school, cell phones must not be present in the classroom “unless you have teacher permission.”

Holton school superintendent Trevor Ashcraft said his district’s policy “mirrors Royal Valley’s,” noting that elementary and middle school students are not allowed to have cell phones in class at any time and that high school students, while in class, cannot use their cell phones without teacher permission but may check them in between classes or at lunch.

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