Schools take on cellphone restrictions

A policy that will restrict cellphone use at school, to whatever degree, has the ultimate purpose of promoting the well-being of students, trustees agreed. 

“It’s good for the kids, whether they like it or not,” Trustee Greg Land said. “Coming up with unique solutions is what makes a school successful.” 

The district has long paid attention to the impact of cellphones — one campus, San Mateo High School, implemented a ban altogether seven years ago — but the effort to solidify a districtwide policy is just now required by state law beginning next school year. 

Superintendent Randall Booker recommended trustees adopt a policy that restricts student use during instructional class time across the district, and allows each school site to take further steps to restrict during passing periods, breaks and lunch, should they so choose. 

Booker’s recommendation differed from that determined by a task force focused on cellphone use. 

Parents and members of the task force said during Thursday’s meeting that they would prefer phones be restricted throughout the entire school day, or “bell to bell.” Trustee Jennifer Jacobson said she went to the last task force meeting and was “surprised there was an easy consensus.” 

“It doesn’t sit well with me that we are not giving more weight to the task force recommendation,” Jacobson said. 

Some trustees voiced their own support for a “bell to bell” restriction, but most agreed that flexibility should be provided for schools to adjust accordingly to their campus climates and expectations of students. 

Since the 2019-20 school year, every day students at San Mateo High School turn off their phones before their first period class, unlock their empty Yondr‚ a magnetically locked pouch, using an unlocking base at building entrances and place their phone inside and secure the pouch in their backpack. They can unlock the pouch at the end of the day. 

To Booker, the Yondr pouches are not a solve-all solution. His recommendation largely favored flexibility for each campus, rather than requiring something such as Yondr pouches throughout the district. 

“We do have some benefits with a program like Yondr pouches, we also see some significant obstacles and drawbacks,” Booker said. “When we look at a districtwide approach, we felt those drawbacks outweighed the benefits.” 

Booker and trustees also discussed the larger problem of cellphone addiction, and considered how much of a responsibility the school district has in restricting or moderating cellphone use. All agreed the issue extends far beyond school campuses, but what role the district should take was debated. 

“It’s understanding that the device is the problem, and the need to have the device is the problem, it’s not the student that's the problem,” Land said. “We have a collective addiction to these phones.” 

Booker described the policy under discussion as a part of an “unending restriction battle” against smart devices, wearable electronics and technology in general. 

Implementing a districtwide phone ban and required use of Yondr pouches or something similar was estimated to cost $250,000 a year, Booker said. 

Rather than spending the money on restriction, and something Booker believes is “somewhat easy to get around,” he would rather the money go toward implementing more campus programs and student activities to get kids connected.  

The policy was only an informational item to discuss by the board. The topic will return to the Board of Trustees at the upcoming meeting Feb. 26, where more data will be presented and the board intends to make a final decision on the matter.