Schools react to student cell phone ban

By Ben McCarthy

Around the country many school districts are finally launching restrictive measures, if not outright bans, on cell phones in the classroom. Missouri school districts are following suit, but only after Governor Kehoe signed Senate Bill 68 into law last month, effectively banning cell phone usage amongst students. The ban goes into effect August 28.

The law states that each school district, including charter schools, must develop a written policy on students’ use of phones. That policy must include a total prohibition of cellphones (and all personal electronic devices) during instructional time, lunch, and between classes. The new law does include exceptions, allowing students access during emergencies.

As Missouri teachers head back into their buildings, not all are receptive to the new policy, despite years of cell phone use in the classroom being a constant disruption.

Kim Sixta is in her 28th year of teaching, and has been very vocal throughout the month, going on local radio and television to state concerns. The Ruskin High School social studies teacher acknowledges the phones are a distraction, but says parents feel they need a way to reach their kids during the day.

“I’m not opposed to a policy, but (this one) talks about confiscating phones,” she said. “What happens if the student (and their parents) refuse? It’s going to be an interesting year, to say the least, and I think we will see a lot of pushback.”

Sixta says she’s hearing from neighboring districts, like Lee’s Summit, that confiscation is a non-starter, given the potential for liability. She points to Yonder bags, often employed at concerts to lock up phones while a musical act or comedian takes the stage, as one potential solution that would take the responsibility off the shoulders of teachers and administrators.

David Price, president of the Kansas City Federation of Teachers, says the bags have been tried and kids broke into them. “We looked into it again recently and it was going to be about half a million dollars for all the kids. We weren’t going to pay that.”

Also expressing skepticism for the new policy is Carter Taylor, a third year teacher at Wheatley Elementary in Kansas City.

“Is an administrator really going to come to a classroom every time a phone is out?” Taylor asked. “So the administrator (rather than the teacher) may have to have a physical confrontation? Nine times out of 10, things will be fine, but there will be occasional confrontations.”

Todd Fuller, director of communications for the Missouri State Teachers Association, says their members are surveyed every year, and classroom management is always a top point of frustration. Now in his 26th year with the association, Fuller says phone disruptions continue to be singled out as a prime nuisance.

“It’s been a challenge for several years now, and they have needed something in place that allows teachers to teach,” Fuller said. “We also believe this policy doesn’t give districts flexibility, and that local control is important, as well.”

In neighboring Kansas, school districts like Blue Valley updated their policies towards cell phones last fall. Others, like Shawnee Mission, updated theirs earlier this year. Students can still bring their cell phones to school, but only high school students can use them during the school day (only during passing periods). After three infractions a student loses total phone privileges. Scott Roberts, Blue Valley’s director of school administration, says the shift in classrooms at the high school level was dramatic.

“No policy is going to be perfect, but in terms of engagement in the classroom, it’s had a massive effect,” Roberts said. “When I go around to the high schools now, I can check on a dozen classrooms and not see a single phone.”

Roberts says he applauds their school board for crafting a policy in which teachers don’t have to be “the bad guy,” and hopes his colleagues in Missouri side experience a similar smooth transition.