Question: I am looking to implement policies in my daughter's school district to limit cell phone use in school in an effort to promote "good" mental health. Also, would like to implement educational programs for parents and kids alike. Is there a template I can utilize, rather than reinventing the wheel?  

 

Answer: Cell phone policies for school are an increasingly important topic, but unfortunately there is no single, universal solution. The majority of teens report using phones in school for non-educational purposes like texting. A recent study tracking 11-17-year-olds’ phones showed that social media, messaging, YouTube and video games were the most used apps on phones during school hours. Studies have shown that cell phone use in school is distracting and is linked with lower grades. Another study found that when cell phones were banned from classrooms, test scores increased. Educators have expressed concerns that easy access to phones in school can lead to students cheating, bullying each other and videotaping each other, which invades privacy. 

With all of these concerns, why is it so hard to remove phones from classrooms? First, many parents want their middle and high school-aged children to have their phones easily accessible in school in case there is an emergency. Second, when bans or policies are put in place, many students disregard them and it is usually up to teachers to be enforcers. This is an extra burden on teachers and will be difficult if teachers are not provided with the tools or strategies to carry it out.  

Additionally, some teachers allow phone use in class, leveraging it as a learning tool. This is consistent with some evidence that with intentional instructional designs, handheld devices, including phones, can enhance learning. 

Experts recommend that school districts involve parents, teachers, and students when developing a cell phone policy.  

Concerns and questions to consider include:  

  • How much public support is there for a cell phone policy? Will parents support it and help their children follow it? 
  • What do teachers currently do about cell phones? It can help to identify best practices (like putting cell phones in a bag or holder at the front of the room) that can be taught to other teachers. 
  • What will the consequences be for violating the policy? This needs to be made very clear to students and parents. 
  • Including students so their perspective can be considered, which will lead to greater acceptance of the policy. In recent research, some teens said they didn’t mind when schools enforced a cell phone policy because it helped them resist the pull of checking their phones and just focus on school. 
  • How will students and teachers be trained on the policy? Make sure there is ongoing support and conversation between teachers, students, and administrators.  

Here are two tools and examples to review when creating a cell phone policy: 

  1. Away for the Day – This approach involves students putting phones in their locker at the beginning of the day and retrieving it at the end of the day. However, this approach hasn’t been evaluated for 1) whether students effectively follow it or 2) whether it works at reducing problems associated with cell phones.  
  2. Creating Effective Responsible Use Policies for Schools: A report by ATLIS and CoSN (Consortium for School Network) provides guidance and outlines how technology use policies should be curated.  

Additional Resources

For more information about social media and phone use at schools, we recommend viewing these previous portal responses and resources about digital literacy: 

For more information about using phones and social media as teaching tools, please see the following resources: 

References 

 

 

Age: 6-17  

Topics: Cell phone policies, school policy, academic performance, mental health, education, digital citizenship 

Role: Parent 

 

Last Updated

03/28/2024

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics