According to Timesreporter.com in 2018, 62% of parents stated that their kids have a cellphone, but 80% of school administrators and teachers thought phones were a distraction in school, and about 76% of American public schools prohibited non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours. Currently, many school boards across the country are enforcing strict cellphone rules, with students’ access to their devices limited to breaks and emergency situations. Other boards have implemented total bans.

Greenbrier East’s new cellphone policy, which has received mixed reactions, was introduced at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, and it has had an impact on students, parents, and teachers. The policy “Away for the Day” reads:

Cell Phones are to be put away during class. Teachers can either utilize the hanging racks, cubbies, or students may have them in their pockets or bags. The only times cell phones can be out is with teacher permission for an educational reason. 1st Offense: Teacher takes the phone, places on desk and gives it back at the end of class. The teacher will call the parent to report the incident. 2nd Offense: Teacher takes the phone, delivers it to the office and writes a discipline referral which goes to the grade administrator. The administrator will process the discipline and contact parents.

While most teachers and parents support this move, believing it will help their children’s education, others argue that access to phones is a family connection and safety issue. Other pro-phone arguments include their use as educational tools. For example, phones can be used to enhance lessons, as well as for translation, research, and collaboration. “I miss using my phone as a educational resource,” sophomore Josie Hanna said.

Let’s face it, phones have transformed the way we communicate, learn, and entertain ourselves; therefore many students experience a fear of missing out when they are separated from their phones, which can lead to anxiety and stress.

Junior Shawnti Winston feels strongly about having access to her phone. “It is really inconsiderate of the administration because they don’t pay for my phone, and what if there is a bad emergency at home that my parents don’t feel comfortable calling the school about?”

It’s very bad,” junior Jaden Dorsey said. “They can take [our phone] if we’re not doing our work, but if we are texting someone for an important reason we should be able to be on it.”

Junior Nyasia Jackson said, “I just want to listen to my music so I can work better.”

Here at East, however, the move to a stricter phone policy was made because of concerns about the negative impact of phones on students’ social interactions and academic success. According to UNESCO, removing smartphones from schools in Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom led to improved learning outcomes, especially for  students that were not performing as well as their peers. Hanna is not surprised: “I have payed more attention without my phone and now I have better grades,” she said.

According to the National Library of Medicine, experts in education and psychology who have studied the impact of phone use suggest that limited phone use can improve kids’ ability to focus. Not allowing cellphones reduces unnecessary distractions in classrooms to help both teachers and students focus on learning. Vibrations and ringing from notifications are a big distraction during class. Having cellphones during school hours also allows easy access to cheating; a student can hide their phone in their lap, a binder, or between the pages of a textbook. “I used to see students hiding phones this way a lot before I adopted a no-phone policy in my classroom two years ago, English teacher Mindy Smith said. “It was frustrating knowing students weren’t paying attention. I never want to see students forced to put their phones in their lockers all day, but phones definitely belong in a rack once class begins so that students can focus.” 

Excessive phone usage during school hours result in lower grades and poor face-to-face communication. Commonsense Media cites several interesting statistics:

• 41% of teens say that storing notes on a cell phone to access during a test is a serious cheating offense, while 23% don’t think it’s cheating at all.
• 45% of teens say that texting friends about answers during tests is a serious cheating offense, while 20% say it’s not cheating at all.
• 76% of parents say that cell phone cheating happens at their teens’ schools, but only 3% believe their own teen has ever used a cell phone to cheat.
• Nearly two-thirds of students with cell phones use them during school, regardless of school policies against it.
• Teens with cell phones send 440 text messages a week and 110 a week while in the classroom.

To prevent cyberbullying through social media is another reason many schools have enacted strict policies. East’s administration is concerned that students sometimes use phones inappropriately by sending hurtful messages and sharing inappropriate content, and believes “Away for the Day” will improve children’s mental health, listening and social skills, and overall education. “Those are totally all the reasons that we started ‘Away for the Day,'” Assistant Principal Briana Windon said, “and have been trying to emphasize that phones shouldn’t be present in the classroom unless it’s educationally related.”

East administrators and teachers have been actively involved in making sure teens follow the new phone policy. The majority of teachers have phone racks or pockets students must place their phones in at the beginning of class.

How has the new phone policy affected you? Leave a comment below.