Schools throughout the nation have been exploring how to adapt to public concerns about student cell phone and headphone use.

In several states, bills that impose policies to reduce or even remove cell phone use during the school day have been signed into law.

Pennsylvania is one of those states, with Governor Josh Shapiro recently signing a bill into law that provides funding for locked phone pouches if districts create a policy banning phone usage while in school.

Another bill, House Bill 2043, which was introduced in February 2024, was also proposed to implement overall restrictions on using cell phones during the school day. It was made in an attempt to improve morale, and academic performance, and lessen distractions and cyberbullying in school.

Both Pennsylvanian bills provide time for cell phone use for educational purposes, health purposes, recess, lunch, and between classes – depending on school policies.

Here at Strath Haven, with the start of the 2024-2025 school year, the arrival of the campaign, “Screens Off, Minds On” is joining the nationwide debate: Should students be allowed to use their cell phones during school hours?

Back to School Changes

On the first day of school, students walked into classrooms to be greeted by signs plastered on walls reading, “SCREENS OFF, MINDS ON. ALL PERSONAL DEVICES SHOULD BE STORED AWAY AND OUT OF SIGHT.”

The sign encourages students to turn off their electronic devices, put them away in their backpacks, and focus in class during instructional time.

“Throughout last year, a lot of teachers were expressing concerns about the number of students who had their phones accessible, were constantly reaching for their phones, and were being on their phones and distracted in class,” Interim Principal Mrs. Andrea LaPira said.

The initiative is in coordination with the enforcement and reflection of the current active policies used by the school district.

“We sat around and we said, ‘What can we do within the policy that will raise awareness and change behavior?’” LaPira said. “What can we be doing differently so that students get the message that instructional time is instructional time?”

Under the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District active policies, Policy 237 defines a personal electronic device as “…devices that can take photographs; that can record, store, transmit, receive, reproduce, initiate, or display audio or video data, calls, messages, images, or any other form(s) of communications; or that can connect to the Internet.”

“The phones have created a distraction for kids,” LaPira said. “They’re appealing. The messages that are coming through, things that we’re seeing on Tik-Tok, things like that, there’s a natural draw to that.”

School district Policy 237-AR states that students at the elementary level are not permitted to use personal electronic devices throughout the school day unless granted by the school principal. At the middle school and high school levels, personal electronic device usage is not allowed during instructional time, unless permitted by a teacher or building principal.

Policy 237 and 237-AR were adopted in June 2022.

Though usage in class is prohibited, “Screens Off, Minds On” is not a total ban on cell phone usage during school hours.

“At no point did we just think that students shouldn’t use them in the hallway or lunch, if a parent texts you during the day, we want you to be able to have an opportunity to text back,” LaPira said. “We wanted to give that access at the appropriate time and place.”

Into the first weeks of school running “Screens On, Minds On,” LaPira touches on the effectiveness of the initiative.

“Teachers have been reporting that there is a marked improvement in that kids sort of seem to understand what the expectations are,” LaPira said. “For the most part, they’re following them.”

Seeing how students have behaved in response to the new enforcement, LaPira noticed how teachers reacted positively to the change.

“I think teachers are happy that they felt heard and that we took some action to address it,” LaPira said.

Despite improvements, students continue to hold mixed opinions about the new expectations. Some felt that the new campaign should only apply to certain classes.

“I think it’s a good idea in concept because you want kids to be focused on their schoolwork and not on their phones, but I think that it’s kind of a generalization,” senior Ellie Newsome said. “For example, I’m in AP Art, and [Screens Off, Minds On] carries over to art, and we have to put our phones away, which means we can’t listen to music, and we can’t use our phones for reference photos, which we’ve always been able to do.”

Some felt it was an unnecessary change.

“I feel like last year, there weren’t that many kids on their phones, and even if we were, it was for educational purposes,” sophomore Tristan Elcock said. “I just don’t really know why we have to put our phones in our bags.”

Particularly for some freshmen, few are used to keeping their phones away in middle school.

“I’m pretty neutral about it,” freshman Morgan Matthews said. “It’s pretty much the same as before, except now there’s a name for it.”

Is Screens Off, Minds On Enough?

On the other side of the spectrum, others believe the current cell phone policy isn’t enough but believe the initiative into “Screens Off, Minds On” is a step in the right direction.

Haven Hold the Phone, an organization run by WSSD parents, was created to “foster open conversation and shared learning about the impact of smartphones and social media on our children,” in hopes of encouraging putting the phone away all day during school hours, according to their Facebook group.

“Specifically, we are proposing an ‘Off and Away, All Day’ policy,” Alex Becker, Haven Hold The Phone member and education policy researcher, said.  “That is the approach that we feel has been long recommended by leading experts in the field.”

An ‘Off and Away, All Day’ policy would prohibit cell phone usage throughout the entire school day.

“There are twenty-four hours in a day. We are proposing that the seven hours that students are at school can unplug,” Becker said. “Students can reclaim that time for not only learning but social interaction with their peers.”

Haven Hold the Phone began as a small group of parents but has grown to over 500 members since its creation in May 2024, following feedback from an anonymous survey sent to WSSD teachers and staff. The group has also started a petition advocating with over 600 signatures.

“This is a parent-led effort,” Becker said. “We really focused over the summer on bringing as many different parent perspectives into the [group]”

While current school board policy and “Screens Off, Minds On” allows students to use personal electronic devices during lunch and in the hallways, Haven Hold The Phone’s plan is more rigorous. The group has collected feedback from other districts such as Fredericksburg City Public Schools in Virgina and Gettysburg School District in South Dakota that have implemented an ‘Off and Away, All Day’ enforcement.

The districts they cite in their research describe improvements in the school day. “[They] are seeing students talking to each other. Lunchrooms are joyful and noisy again, not quiet with kids scrolling on their phones,” Becker said. “This is obviously a big shift, and we don’t expect it to be easy. At the same time, we really feel that this is worth it, just to bring back the opportunity for kids to connect with each other and really focus on their learning in class.”

Pushing for Change

The Haven Hold the Phone initiative hopes to improve student morale and performance while learning and anticipates community involvement as the discussion progresses.

“The overall goal is ensuring better outcomes for our students, and I think now in this next phase, leading into the fall,” Becker said. “We’re really interested in engaging with the community in a different way, especially students.”

In terms of working with the school board to seek change, Haven Hold the Phone is maintaining communication by speaking at public policy and board meetings. Several members of this group spoke about the initiative at the WSSD Policy Committee meeting on Wednesday, September 11.

“It sounds like the superintendent is really focused on making this a community-inclusive effort,” Becker said. “This fall, we’re really hoping for a robust community engagement effort around this, and will continue to be in communication with the board.”

One of the things Haven Hold the Phone hopes to enforce is the usage of YONDR phone pouches.

YONDR is a company widely known for its cell phone pouches with magnetic bases and locks. They are used to hold and “lock” a cell phone from being used. In many schools across the country, YONDR is being used to enforce keeping phones away during school hours.

“YONDR is the solution that several of us in the group independently came to us after doing quite a bit of research into what’s happening in other districts,” Becker said.

YONDR provides a solution to the “Off and Away, All Day” policy by allowing students to keep their cell phones without using or accessing them. However, the solution has its limitations, as some students have reportedly hacked or broken the pouches to open them.

“There’s never going to be 100% compliance with any policy, no matter what it is,” Becker said. “That’s really the onus is on the board and administration to clearly line out the consequences and enforcement.”

What should we do?

The future of cellphone use in school is still yet to be fully determined at Strath Haven.

“There’s different perspectives, and I think everybody lands on the spectrum somewhere in terms of their thoughts,” LaPira said. “I have my own perspective about it, but right now, I think what we have going on is in line with our policy.”

For now, Screens Off, Minds On remains Haven’s cellphone goal as further discussion continues to shape cell phone usage and policy.

“You know, 80 minutes, four times a day, we want you [here], not you and the rest of the world,” LaPira said.

At the regular school board meeting on Monday, September 23, Interim Superintendent Jim Scanlon announced an educational forum to discuss the pros and cons of cellphone usage for teens on Tuesday, October 29.

According to Scanlon, the district is putting together a panel of experts including a medical doctor, psychologist, police chief, administrator, teacher, and a student.

“There are many opinions and beliefs about this topic,” Scanlon said. “It’s happening all around the country, as to how do we appropriately use cellphones in schools with our students.”