Should Schools Ban Cell Phones?
This week, the PVPUSD school board will hear a presentation called “Mobile Communication Devices in High School.” The discussion will focus on the pros and cons of banning cell phones in school entirely. The current district policy allows students to have and use cell phones on school grounds when not in class, and during class with teacher permission.
The presentation mainly uses student, parent, and teacher/administrator feedback as their sources of data, but there have been several studies conducted on this topic. Recently, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health published a study which concluded that banning cell phones improved mental health and grades, particularly for girls. Another study by the National Institute of Health concluded that physically removing cell phones “had higher levels of course comprehension, lower levels of anxiety, and higher levels of mindfulness.”
The question of banning cell phones is not unique to PVPUSD. According to a US Department of Education study on Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools, over 75% of K-12 public schools ban non-academic cell phone use. Florida recently mandated that all public schools ban cell phones in class.
While many of the studies point toward the benefits of banning cell phones, many parents and students feel that having a cell phone in school provides another layer of safety. Last week Palos Verdes Peninsula High School was locked down when law enforcement chased two burglary suspects through campus. Many parents were alerted by their children before the official district message went out. Other parents point to incidents where students with cell phones were able to record inappropriate teacher comments and behavior in class that otherwise might not have been made public.
The presentation also dedicates a slide to discussing a potential solution: something called a Yondr Pouch system, which locks student cellphones in a secure location and can only be unlocked by staff. The price quote for this product is $200,000 for the district.
My position
There are certainly strong arguments on both sides. On one hand, the purpose of the school district is to educate children in an environment that is conducive to learning, and there is strong evidence that banning cell phones assists in that goal. On the other hand, there are valid safety concerns from parents, and students may need cell phones for other reasons such as coordinating with siblings or after-school activities and employment.
For me, it comes down to freedom of choice and parental involvement. I concur with the current district policy of prohibiting cell phones in classrooms unless the teacher specifically allows them for academic purposes, but beyond that, I believe that whether a child has and uses a cell phone is a decision that should be made by their parents. I think that the cell phone policy in classrooms should be enforced by teachers, and violations of the policy by students should include notification of parents.
Oh, and it case it isn’t obvious: the district should definitely NOT spend $200,000 on a pouch system, especially when we are facing so many other budget/facility woes.
