To uphold academic integrity, it is critical that not only individual schools, but also school districts and state legislators, support these efforts and take a leading role in the phone-free initiative.
I recently spoke with South Carolina school board members about this topic at a seminar hosted by the Carolinas Academic Leadership Network, where I serve as director. Founded last year, the group provides training and resources to education leaders in North and South Carolina with a mission to elevate student achievement and parental authority.
When told that South Carolina’s new budget will require districts to adopt a policy banning cell phones, I received energetic questions from attendees: “Where is the best place for students to store their phones? How should we think about enforcement? Will there be a strong reaction from parents?”
These same questions are being asked by education policymakers across the country.
Districts have many options at their disposal, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Some have found that keeping students’ phones in secure pouches during the school day is most effective, an approach being tested by Warren County Schools.
Other districts have opted to keep phones in backpacks or lockers. These rules are often easier to implement and carry little to no cost. At the same time, they come with trade-offs. Students might still retrieve their phones and use them in class, for example. When that happens, teachers must stop what they are doing and take the phone or ask that it be put away.
But having an imperfect policy is better than no policy at all, and when policies come from the district or state level they bring advantages.
District or statewide initiatives reach more schools, taking effect at schools in an area at or around the same time. This is preferable to a piecemeal approach that can leave some schools without a policy in place. By setting these rules at the top, it also relieves school officials from the burden of making these decisions.
A broad policy can also set uniform guidelines for when phone use is allowed, and for what reasons. South Carolina settled on a plan that keeps students from using cell phones during the school day. Florida and Indiana opted for a more flexible approach, applying their bans only during classroom instruction. Each provides exceptions, such as for medical or emergency needs.
The case for phone bans is heightened amid falling national test scores. Last year, NPR reported that math and reading scores for 13-year-olds dropped several points below 2020 levels, reaching a low not seen in decades. Among other changes, expanding phone restrictions can help students get back on track. One 2016 study found that teenagers’ test scores increased after schools four schools in Great Britain adopted phone bans. The researchers said it had an impact “equivalent to adding five days to the school year or an additional hour a week.”
The United Nations concluded in a report last year that the “mere proximity to a mobile device” is enough to distract students and hamper learning, which indicates their removal could have positive classroom outcomes. The author of the 2023 Global Education Monitor report, Manos Antoninis, told the BBC there are benefits to having technology in schools but it must be used specifically to support learning.
Academic success is one of several factors at stake. Mental health, social development and student safety are all important reasons to consider these policies on a broad scale. It is encouraging to see education leaders at all levels taking action, and I hope more will follow. Their progress sets a shining example for navigating the road ahead.
Bryce Fiedler is the director of Carolinas Academic Leadership Network, a joint project between the John Locke Foundation, the Palmetto Promise Institute, and the South Carolina Policy Council.
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