Minneapolis – The use of mobile phones in schools has sparked much debate among educators and policy makers across the country.
Florida and Indiana have passed laws requiring public schools to ban students from using mobile phones during class. oklahomaLawmakers in Washington, Kansas, Vermont, Connecticut, Virginia and South Carolina have introduced bills this year to ban phones in schools. Georgia lawmakers Laws introduced This would restrict students’ use of social media in school. In January, Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox sent a letter Letters have been written to school heads across the state urging them to ban mobile phones in classrooms.
Lawmakers in Minnesota passed a bill Education Bill This includes a requirement that school districts create a phone policy. The Minnesota Elementary School Principals Association and the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals should “collaborate to provide best practices to schools on a range of strategies to reduce the impact of cell phones on student behavior, mental health and academic achievement.” This guidance was part of an education policy bill.
Two Rivers High School in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, is at the forefront of this. The school began working with the nonprofit LiveMore Screenless in 2022. They conducted focus groups Students and teachers and conversations with parents and school leadership. After these conversations, the school implemented its new phone policy. Students can use their phones during lunch, but they must keep their phones off during class or the phones will be confiscated.
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“If you’re seen pulling your phone out, you get sent to the office and they take your phone away for the day,” said Evangeline Fuentes, a junior at the high school. “Eventually if you pull your phone out enough your phone is gone for the whole school year and you’re either not allowed to bring it to school or they put it in a little jail in front of our office.” (Fox News/Mills Hayes)
After implementation in 2023, some teachers at Two Rivers say it has been a success. One teacher said, “I definitely noticed a difference in my students this year, and it was much more fun to teach students when they didn’t have the distraction of phones.”
Katherine Myers is the executive director of Livemore Screenless. A former teacher herself, Myers felt cellphones in schools were becoming the “Wild West.” The nonprofit trains teachers and school staff about digital health.
“Adults are very quick to tell students how bad their devices are. And that’s a fact, but we forget all of the benefits,” Myers said. “As a community, we’re all trying to support a larger goal of balanced intentional use of technology.”
LiveMore ScreenLess helped create Digital Wellbeing Club In Minneapolis schools. Evangeline Fuentes, a junior at Two Rivers High School, joined her school’s club. The club meets monthly to discuss topics related to fostering a healthy relationship with technology and digital devices.
“The phone isn’t totally bad, but you can go on Instagram and scroll through reels and you can laugh or you can find inspiring things or things you want to buy, things you want to bake,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes knows his self-control isn’t that good when it comes to his cell phone.
“I have Snapchat and Instagram. I delete it from time to time. I think every girl or even guy notices that it’s hard to compare or anything like that and just see the same feed or, oh, somebody’s on vacation. Nobody is,” Fuentes said.
When her high school implemented a new phone policy, she noticed her screen time decreased.
“On the first day of school, we discussed the new phone policy and said no one has their phone out after the bell rings,” Fuentes said. “I was focusing. I wasn’t on my phone.”
The nonprofit LiveMore Screenless presented Two Rivers High School with the Commitment to Digital Wellbeing Excellence Award. LiveMore Screenless Executive Director Katherine Myers says Principal Dr. Albert Johnson’s leadership was essential in the high school’s adoption of a successful phone policy. Since the protocol modifications, 90% of teachers have reported an increase in student engagement. “We were surprised, but there was no resistance. It’s been a great opportunity to connect with families,” Dr. Johnson said. (Livemore Screenless/Katherine Myers)
If the phone is taken out in class he or she will be put in cell phone jail.
“It’s nice to talk to people and not have the pressure of being on the phone,” Fuentes said of the new phone restrictions. “I would say it was more genuine contact.”
Across the metro, it’s much stricter at Maple Grove Middle School. Principal Patrick Smith said that before his cell phone policy was in place, kids would leave class to make TikToks and text messages and start fights in the hallways.
“We see the phone, we grab it,” Smith said. “When I first launched this, I said leave the phone at home.”
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But Smith faced resistance from parents.
“Their biggest concern was that we’re living in a very different time right now,” Smith said. “As a parent, I have two teenagers myself. You want to know at all times that they’re safe. And if there’s ever a major emergency, the parent wants to be able to contact their child, and they want to know that they’re safe.”
Smith says he saw Instant Changes The overall happiness of students and staff. Teachers no longer have to argue with students to put their phones away.
“The failure rate has gone down significantly,” Smith said.
“When I was a teacher at first, it was a little disturbing,” Khulia Pringle of the National Parents Union said of students’ phone use in school. Pringle says school districts should talk to students when creating their phone policies. (Fox News/Mills Hayes)
Some schools across the country require students to keep their phones locked in a pouch. Khulia Pringle, Minnesota state director for the National Parents Union, says she doesn’t think this is the solution.
“I will personally make arrangements to ensure that this does not happen,” Pringle said.
There’s a crisis about cell phones in our schools and we can’t ignore it
Pringle represents thousands of parents in the state of Minnesota. She says parents are most concerned about children using their phones to record arguments or social media. While parents want schools to limit phone use, they don’t want them to be removed altogether for safety reasons.
“God rest the souls of those who were involved in the mass shooting. But a lot of those kids were able to call and tell them that they were either OK or not OK,” Pringle said.
He says cell phone policies are important, but he’s more concerned about student literacy, discipline issues and racial incident protocols.
School districts in Minnesota have until March 2025 to create a phone policy.
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“Leaders are really waiting to find out who’s doing what,” said Livemore Screenless’ Myers.
The National Education Association says they recently conducted a cell phone and social media survey of all of their members, and will release their recommendations for schools in July.
