BOULDER, Colo. — The new year will bring new, stricter cell phone restrictions for high school students in the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD).
On Tuesday, the school board voted to implement a bell-to-bell ban, which will prohibit the use of phones for the entire school day, including lunch and passing periods.
Superintendent Rob Anderson told Denver7 that this is not a policy intended to punish students for using their phones, but rather it's meant to help them in the long run.
"There's an over-reliance on cell phones and an over-reliance on social media that's harmful to the mental health of our kids. We care about that deeply," Anderson said.
He added that there is already a similar cell phone ban in place for BVSD elementary and middle schools.
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"[We want to] make sure that we're creating the right environment, setting the right conditions for students, so they don't have to overly rely on social media and cell phones — that they're focusing on face-to-face interactions with their peers, engaging in their lessons in classrooms without distraction," he said.
However, some high school students said they're skeptical about how the new rules will be implemented.
Alison Sittiseri, a student at East High School in Denver, said she heard about the ban at BVSD. While her school is not impacted by a cell phone ban, she said this is a topic she has frequently discussed with her peers.
"I think especially for schools that are larger, it would be hard to implement, especially if you're not taking the phones. And if you are taking the phones, there will definitely be some issues arising over that," Sittiseri said. "I do think students do have a right to have their phones on them in case of any emergencies, because we do know that in this changing time, a lot of communication happens over our cell phones."
Superintendent Anderson said the new policy will go into effect in January.
In the meantime, he said teachers and staff are working on the details and considering what the exceptions will look like.
"Over the course of the next month, we'll be working with our school leaders, and we will be working with teacher leaders to figure out what's the best way to implement this new policy," he said.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in the fall of 2023 found that one-third of teachers of kindergarten through 12th grade classes believe students are distracted by cell phones, and that this is classified as a “major problem.” About 20% of those teachers called it a “minor problem.”
About 82% of K-12 teachers in the United States said their school, or the school district, has a cell phone policy of some kind. However, 30% of them said those policies are “very” or “somewhat” difficult to enforce.
A study from the research center this fall found that while most Americans — 68% — agree with banning cell phone use in classrooms, they are less supportive of full-day restrictions. A major reason for the latter is parents wanting to be able to reach their child in an urgent situation or an emergency.
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