Latest news with #Phone-FreeSchoolAct
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How cell phone rules will change at San Diego schools next year
SAN DIEGO (FOX5/KUSI)–The way students use their cell phones at San Diego Unified schools is set to change next school year as a result of the Phone-Free School Act, a new California law. 'It's something that we all carry, so it is a tool. So then how do we become purposeful about using the tool as a tool and not as—I'm going to call it a cell phone addiction,' said Dr. Fabiola Bagula, interim superintendent for SUSD. She said that when the law was passed, she went straight to the students. 'If this is a rule that is going to be for them, then I would like them to have a hand in designing it and what it might mean. One of the things that they said was, if you engage us, we're actually not on our phones. They said, 'Ma'am, we haven't reached for our phones while you're talking to us now,'' said Dr. Bagula. She said students had already reviewed all the policies in place at San Diego Unified schools and helped create the uniform policy on the table, which is based on grade level. Middle schoolers wouldn't be able to use their cell phones during school hours and would have to put them in designated areas. High schoolers will only be able to use phones before or after school, during lunch or during passing periods. They will only be able to use them in class if they have written permission from the school's principal. Every classroom will have a designated phone storage system for students to store their phones during class. Proposed consequences could mean that their teacher can confiscate the student's phone until the end of class or until their parent retrieves it. 'Getting your cell phone taken away is a consequence, but it shouldn't be so drastic that you end up losing privileges or anything like that. So we are still in the process of communicating and designing what an adequate consequence would be,' said Dr. Bagula. Bagula says students also suggested including fourth and fifth graders to prepare for the rules they will eventually have to follow. 'After we reach it and we land on the policy, can we send a letter home to parents with a couple of articles about how cell phones impact our brain, impact our development and actually contribute to bullying in social media and then have some questions so they can actually have family conversations during dinner,'' said Dr. Bagula. Bagula plans to follow through with those suggestions, but before she can do that, she is waiting to hear from parents via an online survey about their thoughts regarding the rules on the table. Leaders will review the responses, bring the rules to the school board and the new rules will go into place next school year. All California school districts have until July 2026 to finalize rules. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
21-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Who's Against Banning Cellphones in Schools?
Well before political leaders were taking action against cellphones in the classroom, the superintendent of schools in Schoharie, N.Y., a rural district about 40 miles west of Albany, was well along on his crusade against Big Tech's commandeering of the adolescent mind. By the beginning of the school year in 2022, David Blanchard, who had been appointed as superintendent seven years earlier, had implemented a bell-to-bell policy. This meant that students could not use phones (or smart watches or earbuds) at any point during the school day — not during lunch or study halls or periods of transition from one class to another. The effort certainly seemed extreme. This was before Jonathan Haidt's book 'The Anxious Generation' spurred consensus about the destructive impact phones were having on teenage mental health, before the former surgeon general's call for warning labels on social media platforms. Mr. Blanchard was troubled by all the disconnection he was seeing. His experiment yielded benefits right away. 'We found a transformative environment,' he told me recently. 'We expected kids to be in tears, breaking down. Immediately we saw them talking to each other, engaged in conversation in the lunchroom.' One unanticipated outcome was that students flooded counselors' offices looking for help on how to resolve conflicts that were now happening in person. Previously, if they found themselves in some sort of fight with someone online, they would have called or texted a parent for advice on how to deal with it, Mr. Blanchard told me. 'Now students were realizing that their friends were right there in front of them and not the people on social, a few towns away, that they had never met.' Enrollment in elective classes also went up when the option to scroll your way through a 40-minute free period was eliminated. The success in Schoharie has been a showpiece in Gov. Kathy Hochul's recent campaign to ban cellphones in schools across New York. At least eight other states, including Florida and Louisiana, have instituted restrictions of varying kinds. In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Phone-Free School Act requiring every school district in California to devise a policy limiting the use of smartphones by July 2026. This week a suggested cellphone ban was the subject of a public hearing in the Texas State Legislature, where a bill was introduced with bipartisan support a few months ago by a young member of the House who lamented that she had been 'born into these devices.' Governor Hochul's proposal follows the Schoharie bell-to-bell approach. In a rare instance of agreement between labor and government, it is supported by the United Federation of Teachers, the union representing New York City schoolteachers. As Michael Mulgrew, the president of the U.F.T., put it, 'It is simple, and everyone knows what the expectation is.' Still, the proposal's all-constraining formulation has not made it an obvious or easy sell. Introduced in January as part of the state's current budget negotiations, it is opposed by some groups like the state's School Boards Association. These groups favor an alternate strategy coming out of the statehouse that endorses the notion that local jurisdictions ought to have say in how policy limiting phone use is devised. Studies comparing students with and without cellphones in classrooms generally show better academic performance among those without. The advantage of keeping devices out of students' hands for the entire day is that it both reduces the time teachers have to waste policing phone use and also minimizes the possibility that whatever erupts on Snapchat during lunchtime will kill any chance of paying attention to the 'Moby-Dick' discussion in the afternoon. In Schoharie, students put their smartphones in a pouch with a magnetic lock — the kind used in stores to prevent theft — which cannot be opened until a school attendant releases them at the end of the day. In recent years, parents around the country have demanded more and more control over what their children are reading and doing in school. The constituents most opposed to all-day phone bans are the mothers and fathers who seem to be addicted to constant filial contact. Governor Hochul has spoken to aggrieved first-grade teachers who told her that they are overseeing classrooms full of children wearing smart watches. 'Mommy and Daddy were checking in all day long saying, 'I miss you and can't wait to see you,'' the governor told me. 'That's a parental need,' she said, 'not a student need.' The continuation of these patterns, she worried, was bound to keep children from emerging as fully functioning adults. It is the sadly all too reasonable fear of many parents that something catastrophic could happen at school without their being able to reach their children. It is a fantasy that communication would save them. Throughout the rollout of the proposal, the governor's office has had law enforcement come in and speak with school groups to explain how misguided a notion that is. In an emergency, phones distract children from remaining focused on whomever has been entrusted to keep them safe; calls and texts create added panic. Should the governor's proposal pass, it would take effect in September. Parents in Schoharie were quite resistant to the ban at first, Mr. Blanchard told me. But they came around when they realized that with the addiction broken, it became much easier to manage their children's digital lives at home — and much more gratifying to see them engage with the world without staring at their hands.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. Schools Implement District-Wide Cellphone Ban
The Los Angeles Unified School District's sweeping ban on cellphones, smartwatches, and smart glasses in classrooms took effect Tuesday, marking a significant shift in the district's approach to technology past June, the LAUSD board ruled to ban students' use of cell phones and other smart devices in a 5-2 vote, with exceptions made for students who need devices for translation purposes or learning Melvoin, an LAUSD board member, noted that the resolution was put into place to combat cyberbullying and encourage concentration in the classroom. "The research is clear: widespread use of smartphones and social media by kids and adolescents is harmful to their mental health, distracts from learning, and stifles meaningful in-person interaction," Melvoin said in an Instagram post in August, Governor Newsom signed the Phone-Free School Act into law, requiring all school districts to limit the use of smartphones on school Alberto Carvalho says that the use of devices during class time is a major distraction in the classroom. "Students will be able to actually lift their faces from their cell phones and visually, socially interact with their age-appropriate peers in their schools," Carvalho campus in the district can choose to have students keep devices in their backpacks, lock them away in specific containers or pouches, or keep them in classroom device parents are pushing back against the ban with major concerns of safety and privacy, while others agree with the district that the ban is Rico wrote under an ABC7 Facebook post, "Not a great move! With so much violence in schools, these phones could save lives."Under a different ABC7 Facebook post, Lorna Maynigo wrote, "Good, I hope this allows kids to focus more on learning rather than being distracted by the countless gadgets available to them nowadays." Stay in the Know! Get the top news from Los Angeles Magazine sent to your inbox every day. Sign up for The Daily Brief below or by clicking here.
CBS News
17-02-2025
- CBS News
LAUSD cellphone ban set to take effect in hundreds of schools across the district
A cellphone ban is expected to go into effect Tuesday at hundreds of schools across the Los Angeles Unified School District, limiting students' use of devices. The ban which was passed in 2024, is aimed at prohibiting the use of cellphones and social media platforms by students during the school day. The ban will include other electronic devices with smartphone capabilities such as smart watches. Schools will use different techniques for how they enforce the ban. Some schools will require students to keep their phones in their backpacks and other schools have purchased special equipment. The district said some reasons for the ban are to improve students' attention in classrooms, limit exposure to inappropriate content and decrease device dependency. The initial proposal cited other bans being implemented across the country. Some ways of implementing the ban: Stored in backpack Portable storage Magnetic pouches Velcro pouches Classroom phone holder Even with the ban, the LAUSD said the policy would allow students to have their phones readily accessible so they can use them in emergency situations, following state guidelines under California's Phone-Free School Act, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in September. Outlined circumstances when students may use their phones: In the case of an emergency or in response to a perceived threat of danger When a teacher or administrator grants permission When a licensed physician or surgeon determines it is necessary for health or well-being When required in a student's individualized education program
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Los Angeles public school cell phone ban takes effect Tuesday: What to know
When students in the Los Angeles Unified School District return to class after President's Day, they might want to leave their cell phones at home. A district-wide cell phone ban takes effect on Tuesday. It was approved by LAUSD's board last June in an effort to improve student engagement, reduce bullying and improve mental health. While the policies might vary slightly from school to school, there is one common rule: Cell phones must stay turned off and stored during school hours, including lunch. Some campuses might choose to have them locked up or placed in classroom holders – or simply stored in backpacks. 'Students will finally be separated from mobile phones during the regular school day, allowing them to be the kids they are,' LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in November. 'Allowing them to socially interact with peers of their age. Allowing them to not be distracted in the classroom.' Students caught using their cell phones at school could lose their devices and face other disciplinary action. There are some exceptions, however, including the health needs of individual students, Individualized Education Program plans or translation purposes. Public schools across California will be closely monitoring LAUSD's cell phone ban. In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a statewide initiative, the Phone-Free School Act, requiring all districts to restrict the use of smartphones on campuses. 'We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues – but we have the power to intervene. This new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they're in school,' Newsom said at the time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
