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Are cellphones allowed in your school’s classrooms or hallways? If you answered “yes” to the first part of the question, you’re in a dwindling minority of K-12 leaders, even as some administrators still allow older students to take out their cellphones between classes, at lunch and during other break times.

At issue is recapturing students’ attention to learning after the seemingly constant disruptions of the last few years, along with the use of phones to bully classmates and arrange fights. Some experts and educators believe students may be more tied to cellphones than ever because the devices became the only way to contact friends and connect with the outside world during lockdowns early in the pandemic.

In western Pennsylvania, local police documented where students used cellphones to plan fights, harass other students, coordinate vaping “gatherings” in school bathrooms and vandalize property, administrators of the Ringgold School District noted in their new policy. Students are now prohibited from using their cellphones during school and on district transportation.

Other administrators are approaching restrictions with a bit of nuance. North of New York City, the Newburgh Enlarged City School District is allowing students to bring phones to school but says they “must be turned off and kept out of sight during the entire instructional day.”

“The priority and purpose of this policy is to set our students up for success, free from the distraction that electronic devices often create,” Superintendent Jackielyn Manning Campbell said in . “Students will be able to have their phones with them in the event of an emergency; however, there will be repercussions if they are seen, heard, or used during the school day.” The “repercussions,” however, will be restorative and educational rather than punitive, Campbell added.

Cellphones allowed—or not

Here’s a look at some other new cellphone policies that district leaders have put in place for the 2022-23 school year. New policies implemented since our last report are at the top:

Sept. 13

East Syracuse Minoa School District (New York): Superintendent Dr. Donna Desiato told that she and her educators intend to teach “appropriate use” cellphones. Phones are not automatically prohibited as long as students turn devices off and put them away during instructional time, in meetings and in similar settings.

Montezuma-Cortez School District (Colorado): Students are not allowed to use cellphones in the classroom: “It’s disrespectful to teachers, it’s disruptive and students inevitably miss information if their attention is elsewhere,” Superintendent Tom Burris wrote in . Students can use their phones at lunch and between periods, he said.

Sioux City Community Schools (Iowa): Elementary school students cannot use smartphones, smartwatches or headphones during the school day; middle school students who have shown good behavior can ask for permission to use the devices outside of class time; high school students can use mobile devices between classes, at lunch and before and after school,

Sept. 6

Bolivar-Richburg Central School District (New York): Middle and high school students are to use cellphones, smart watches, earbuds or other mobile devices capable of sending text messages. A student who brings one of these devices to school must store them in their locker for the entire day.

Colonial School District (Delaware): Middle school students have to place their phones in self-locking Yondr Pouches at the beginning of the day. Students can open the pouches at magnetic “unpouching stations” when they leave school. “The research around the adverse effects of adolescent/teenage cellphone use is alarming and we really felt it was time to provide a phone-free environment for the emotional well-being of our students,” George Read Middle School Principal Nicholas Wolfe said in .

Dayton Public Schools (Ohio): Students are now required to put their phones in self-locking Yondr Pouches during the school day after administrators last year dealt with a sharp increase in cellphone-related disruptions—even though the devices were prohibited, told District 91��Ƭistration.

Fairfax County Public Schools (Virginia): Students in grades K-8 must silence cellphones and other mobile devices and keep them in backpacks or put them away elsewhere during the school day. High school students must silence cellphones during all instructional periods but can use them on campus before the first bell, after the last bell, during passing periods, and at lunch, according to enacted in June.

More from 91��Ƭ: School cellphone rules—Why they’re such a difficult call for districts 

Lewiston Public Schools (Maine): Students in pre-K through 8th grade must keep their phones turned off and in their backpacks throughout the school day. But high school students are only prohibited from using their phones during class time, under this school year.

North Kansas City Schools (Missouri): Students may bring their cellphones to school but are not allowed to use them in class. “Within a few days of the procedures going into effect, district leadership noticed an increase in student-to-student and student-to-teacher engagement,” North Kansas City administrators told District 91��Ƭistration. “There has been a discernable difference in the number of positive interactions between students and teachers.”

Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland): Elementary and middle school students can use mobile devices before and after school but not in class, during lunch or between classes. High school students can also use their phones at lunch. The also allows students to use a cellphone as an accommodation required in an IEP or 504 plan.

School District of Superior (Wisconsin): Students in grades K-8 must now in their locker during school hours. Main office personnel can fully communicate with every student in case of an emergency, the new policy says.