The Student Prints

by Raad Amin and Haleigh Murphy

“Phones and tests are like cats and rugs — they are natural enemies,” said Teacher Ian Malcolm. However, as you already likely know, the state has leapfrogged forward with Senate Bill 158, titled “Prohibit student cellular telephone use in public schools,”  — a near-complete ban on cellphones during the school day. 

SB 158 requires all public schools in Ohio to create policies banning students from using cellphones during school hours. However, it allows schools to make exceptions for students who have health concerns that need to be monitored, and to aid in “student learning,” which is to the discretion of school boards. Technically speaking, the bill covers all “electronic communications devices,”  everything from handheld radios to laptops — any device that is powered by electricity is capable of receiving or transmitting communications between persons. This was interpreted, however, by our district to only apply to cellphones and tablet computers. 

The bill emerged from a broader national movement against chronic phone use in schools. Governor Mike DeWine expressed support in his State of the State Address, saying “Addiction to screen time… rob[s] our children of precious time to learn from their teachers during the school day.” 

While the reasoning behind the bill itself revolved around the use of cell phones becoming an obstacle to students’ work and attention, their removal can cause just as many issues for students.

“For a lot of classes, it’s just faster to use your phone. The Chromebooks just don’t work,” senior June Monaco said. “I have programs for AP research, such as Python, that the Chromebook can’t load or can’t handle running.”

And it’s not just processing issues. Many activities at school, both during the day and extracurricular, felt the strain from the dampener on communication. Without access to phones, sports and clubs struggled to get time-sensitive information out to students efficiently. 

“We had issues during the pep rally,” senior dancer Sydney Debouver said. “No one knew where to go or when we were supposed to be there, and we didn’t have a way to ask each other. We just had to hope that everyone figured it out in time.”

Issues quickly began to pop up during classes as well. 

“In the past, Photojournalism students mostly used their phones to take photos and do projects during class, but this year, they obviously cannot do that anymore,” Journalism Teacher Sarah Huey said, “so the district had to purchase small cameras for them to check out during class.” 

Interactive Media, a career tech revolving around digital content, had to get a phone specifically for the class to use since a lot of the class’s senior curriculum revolves around creating content for social media. 

However, the bill has done some good.

“I don’t have a yay or nay personal opinion on cell phones, but universally, they are a distraction. Whether that’s during schoolwork and reading, or spending time with friends,” Principal Mark Pugh said. “The staff members I’ve talked to have seen a huge improvement in student focus and attention during class.”

It also cuts down on issues with cell phones during class. “Before, our cell phone policy varied from teacher to teacher. Some had no tolerance, but some let a lot more slide. It was just a lot of gray area. It’s easier now, since it’s a more cut-and-dry expectation. Students know that if we see it, we have to take it,” Pugh said.

It’s a difficult balance to strike, creating rules to help eliminate distractions in the classroom, while still giving older students freedom to make their own choices about how to use their class time, and to communicate with coaches and other students effectively. But, looking at the current iteration of the cell phone policy, there is much left to be desired.