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School Phone Ban

<Introduction />

Hello everyone! Welcome to the blog. Today, I am discussing a phone ban at a local school, inspired by new laws in the state, and its implications for schools across the nation. Since [SCHOOL_NAME] is a private school, it has the option to not abide by these laws.

These new rules are a serious safety and ethical risk to students and parents. These bans reflect a dangerous trend in school administrations that want to hide what the school does behind closed doors while claiming it is to prevent distractions. Phone bans pose serious safety risks as they prevent calling for help in the case of an emergency.

Don’t believe me? Take this scenario that’s not too uncommon but made much more dangerous now that a phone isn’t available:

It’s a bright sunny day and the football players are out practicing for a game when suddenly one drops down—they are having a heart attack. The other players scramble to call for help and to provide aid to their friend. One runs to their bag to fetch a phone, but because the school now requires it to be shut down during the day, instead of being able to call for help immediately, he now has to wait for it to boot.

Waiting for a phone to boot is especially dangerous since the average iPhone and Android phone takes up to a minute to boot and up to 30 seconds to find a network connection and load core services required to make a call.

<Communication Is Essential />

A phone ban also restricts quality of life by making it difficult for:

  • A group of friends to find a place to meet up
  • A student to tell their family how their day is going
  • Clubs to find time to meet
  • A campus trying to send an essential message

Communication is essential for day-to-day tasks and to get through life. These bans are being put into place because the loud and popular minority of rule-breakers who refuse to stop using their phones in class won’t listen. Because of this, the student body as a whole must suffer and parents are left worried about the safety of their child and the campus.

For the sake of this blog post, I will be referring to the school as [SCHOOL_NAME] for my and many others’ privacy, although this blog post can likely be attributed to schools across the nation.

<Policy Overview />

At [SCHOOL_NAME], students and parents of the high school are all learning about the new rules to come. These rules are set into place by a fresh new administration. After their first year tightening their firm grip on the student body by restricting authorized areas, the ability to access vehicles during the day, and banning earbuds/headphones outside of study hall, the new admins begin to draft an email undoing dress code changes made by the former admins and creating their most controversial policy of all: the phone ban.

<How The Policy Works />

During school hours, phones must be:

  • Shut down completely
  • Placed in a bag
  • Smart watches must also be stored

The policy includes a new 3-strike system:

  1. First Strike: Student completes a reflection on digital citizenship during detention
  2. Second Strike: Additional reflection; student must check in their phone at the Upper School Office each morning
  3. Third Strike: The student may no longer bring a phone to campus

<The Contradictions />

This new policy is incredibly harsh and restrictive about when phones can be used. This poses a critical question: Why are phones so bad during free periods like lunch?

The irony is that so much of the school already relies on phones:

  • NFC-enabled phones are required to unlock doors
  • QR codes on posters around the school are used for joining clubs, signing up for events, gaining access to resources, and announcements

The new workflow they seem to expect students to adopt is to pull out their school-issued iPad and hold it up to the QR code while the keyboard loosely dangles below. This is slow and clunky. This also doesn’t account for the fact that Apple iPads are NOT NFC-enabled and therefore they cannot open doors.

<Previous Policy vs. New Policy />

These new rules are an extreme escalation from previous policies. Previously, phone use was simply prohibited in classrooms—a rule that was broken by few students and was often never enforced by teachers.

The only plausible reasons I can see for this complete ban are:

  1. The school does not want to be recorded and is trying to hide something
  2. The school wants to try to put an end to phone distraction in class (this method will not work)
  3. Administrators are annoyed by students using social media

<Blocking Parent Communication />

This new policy actively blocks communication with parents, and the school is fully aware of it. They actively encourage blocking connection with family, as stated in this quote from their policy:

“Please avoid texting your student during school hours. If you have an urgent need to reach your child, please contact your divisional office [PHONE NUMBER REDACTED] and we’ll ensure they receive your message promptly. We respectfully ask that parents use this for vital, time-sensitive messages to minimize class disruptions.”

<Trust Issues />

The school has proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted with safety. Just this year, a middle schooler was able to run away from campus and they never said anything public about the incident. Students witnessed teachers searching and the public announcement system was even calling for her return. There was never a public statement about the incident.

There have also been accounts of teachers bullying students, with the only way to prove it being a recording taken by a student. While I have not personally experienced being bullied by a teacher, I do know of many cases of this happening at [SCHOOL_NAME] and nearby schools. The phone ban will give teachers a false sense of security that their actions won’t be documented due to these new rules.

<Safety Risks />

A lack of phone access can be dangerous in the event of vital emergencies. This isn’t just a few isolated cases—many disasters can be further worsened by this phone ban.

<Emergency Scenarios />

Critical safety issues include:

  • Cannot call for a ride or help in the event of a natural disaster
  • Cannot access medical information stored on the phone when it’s shut down
  • Cannot call for help in the event of a lockdown
  • SOS button is disabled while shut down
  • FindMy and Life360 trackers are not functional while shut down
  • Cannot unlock doors while the phone is shut down
  • Cannot see your schedule while the phone is shut down

Not all students in the high school have a car or even a license yet, meaning this can be especially dangerous as escape becomes especially difficult without a phone. Relying on slow office calls is unreliable, and there’s no telling if the school will just decide not to deliver a given message.

<Personal Impact />

I use my phone very rarely during the day. The only times I need to use my phone are when:

  • Responding to urgent, time-sensitive issues at work (Avunite)
  • Trying to communicate a location to meet up with my girlfriend and peers
  • Checking my schedule
  • Trying to locate my sister at the end of the day
  • Communicating with my parents

Even though I don’t use my phone much during the day, that doesn’t mean the time I use it is any less important. I cannot fully shut down my phone as I am required to have Better Stack time-sensitive emergency alerts on at all times for work.

<My Solution />

I believe reverting this policy back to last year’s approach (phones can only be used during free periods) and enforcing that rule strongly is likely the best solution. This ensures that:

  • Distractions during class are kept to a minimum
  • Students still have needed freedom to access phones during the day

Banning phones is not the way to go. Phones are essential and a required part of modern life, especially for young teens. These bans are only going to cause students to resist and be angry towards their schools and institutions.

Policies like this are overbearing and will only create more problems. I believe a revision to this rule and working with the students and parents will yield the best results. Schools always claim to listen to student voices, but the reality is they never do. The admins make rules as they see fit. The phone rule needs to be changed.

<Call to Action />

Want to push back on these changes? That’s great! It is important to let your voice be heard.

<How You Can Help />

If you are a parent or a student, I’d heavily suggest:

  • Emailing the high school dean of students
  • Contacting state legislators
  • Calling meetings and suggesting a revision to the rule

Your voice joined with others WILL make a difference.

Schools can get away with these policy changes only because they receive no pushback. Now it’s time to start pushing back. A phone ban is dangerous to all.

<Contact />

For questions or concerns about this blog post, please feel free to reach me at aidan@boondit.site. I’d be happy to hear your feedback.

If you found this blog post helpful and want to support my work, you can send a tip at cash.app/$AidanTheBandit.

That’s all for this blog post. I hope you found this interesting. Take care. Bye!

<Research />