Many California school districts implement no cell phone policy. Here's how schools enforce it
ROSEVILLE – Kids are heading back to the classroom for the new school year, but there is one thing students in Roseville City School District will not be allowed to bring to class, a cell phone.
Roseville City is just one of many school districts across California trying to get students to unplug from their devices in hopes it will increase their engagement and attention inside and outside of the classroom. It had its first day of school last week.
"I think it's just a good idea for the school to reinforce interpersonal relationships instead of just using the phones all the time," said Manny Galvan who has a 7th-grade son at Eich Middle School.
Kristen and Manny Galvan are all for the no cell phone policy but are not so sure students are.
"I think some of the kids are still planning on using their phones and learning new ways to sneak it," Galvan said.
While students are able to still bring their phones to school, they now must power the phones off from when the first bell rings to the last.
"For us, it's as simple as less distractions, more focus," Eich Middle School Principal Darren Brown said.
Brown said this policy change didn't happen overnight. It has been in the works at Roseville City for years.
"We have gone and visited other schools," Brown said. "We've talked to other districts."
The biggest difference he said he saw while visiting other campuses was that kids were talking to each other.
"We've lost that a little bit," Brown said.
What happens when a student is caught?
If a student is caught scrolling on a cell phone during school hours, the first offense will be a warning. The second offense is a parent notification and school consequences. The third offense will be a detention.
If a student is found a fourth time using it, they will have to check in the cell phone at the office in a locked location for the entirety of the school day.
"We're hoping that we never get to that step four or five and we're hoping that the students maybe not embrace the policy, but at least understand it," Brown said.
One of the biggest changes with this policy is that students will not be allowed to use their cell phones while out at lunch, meaning they'll have to interact with each other.
"She's worried that she can't contact me if she's having a bad day or people are bullying her, which she could last year and I could come pick her up," said Sara Townsend, who has a daughter in the 7th grade at Eich Middle.
What is the policy's impact?
Townsend does not think taking away cell phones will solve bullying when kids still have other technology in the classroom.
"My daughter was actually bullied last year on the school-issued Chromebooks," Townsend said.
Professor of Sociology at UC Davis Robert Farias recently conducted a study of kids who were cut off from technology finding 20% of the kids surveyed said they felt relief, but that was not the majority.
"A lot of them reported feeling anxious but I think a lot of that anxiety was driven by the fear of missing out," Farias said.
While Farias said the no cell phone policy will not likely bring radical change, he does acknowledge that the limited research at this point, points in a positive direction, especially academically.
"I don't think a cell phone ban is going to radically change the prevalence or intensity of cyberbullying," Farias said. "It kind of just postpones it until the end of the school day."
He cited some of the findings from other studies that have been conducted.
"There's a study in Britain that found that they had significant gains on test scores," Farias said. "There's a study in Sweden that kids were spending less time being sedentary and they were more active following cell phone bans."
Farias also pointed out how it has been crucial in some cases that students were able to capture misbehavior on campus with teachers or students all because they recorded it on a cell phone, but Brown thinks that sometimes escalates situations.
"I think it actually will prevent some of those things," Brown said.
Parent concerns
Meanwhile, the Lincoln Unified School District in Stockton is also implementing a no cell phone in school policy.
Elementary and middle school students will have their phones taken away for the entire day while high school students will be given back their phones during passing periods and lunch.
"Let's not be naïve, there [are] a lot of things going on in Stockton, let alone the whole world," Lincoln Unified Parent Tamaya Buriss said.
Safety is the biggest concern most parents have been voicing.
"It makes both of us nervous, not just her but myself included," Townsend said.
Even though parents trust schools to safely teach their kids every school day, some do not feel the same type of trust when it comes to communication.
"I can tell you right now with my younger daughter in elementary school she's gone in telling them she has a headache before and they've tried to talk her into going back to class," Townsend said.
The Lincoln Unified superintendent said not having cell phones during emergencies may prevent misinformation from spreading to parents.
"I don't agree with it," Buriss said. "With everything that's going on in the world, I would like to be accessible to my child."
Brown said they are willing to make some exceptions.
"In the case of any real emergency that we, of course, hope never ever happens, kids will obviously be allowed to use their phones in that case if needed," Brown said.
Of course, cell phones were never a thing back in the day when most parents were in school.
"Adults are on their phones all the time and I think sometimes maybe we can learn from the school's decision," Galvan said.
Although, in the age of technology, can banning cell phones in schools really bridge the gap in learning loss and create new habits for a generation that's glued to screens?
"If you can do something that leads to less distractions and more focus for our kids, I'm all for it," Brown said.
The new policy will also apply to other smart technology such as Apple Watches.