LAUSD may ban smartphones during the school day (for real this time)

Los Angeles Unified School District campuses may become cell phone and social media free places.

The Los Angeles Unified Board will review staff guidance Tuesday to gather feedback and create a policy that would ban student phone and social media use from bell to bell.

“I think we can do more to monitor the school day to make sure the kids are focused, that their mental health doesn’t suffer and that they have a little more time to be alone with each other. ,” said Board member Nick Melvoin. , who authored the resolution with Board President Jackie Goldberg and member Tanya Ortiz Franklin.

Current district policy technically prohibits phone and social media use in the classroom, but educators say even that is unevenly enforced.

One vote yes RESOLUTION would direct district staff to review existing cell phone and social media policies and present a plan to the board that could be in place by the time students return from winter break in January 2025.

A no vote would maintain the district’s existing policy, which prohibits the use of cell phones and social media during class.

LAUSD joins California Legislators AND those from states across the country in an attempt to distract students from their devices during school.

Almost constant of teenagers use of mobile phones and social media belies the reality that more than three-quarters of the districts there are already policies in place to limit non-academic cell phone use at school.

Young people are experiencing increased feelings of sadness and hopelessness and are attempting suicide more often than a decade ago. Researchers are still trying to determine how and if parallel increase in smartphones AND the use of social media is connected.

On the one hand, this technology offers new avenues for friendship and connectionbut increased use is also associated with poorer sleep, youth gun violenceAND depression and anxiety.

What does county policy say about phones now?

The district last revised its student cell phone policy in 2011 and its rules governing social media use in 2018.

Students are allowed to keep their devices, but they must be kept out of sight and during school. Access to social media is restricted for “educational purposes” at school.

But educators say enforcement of the existing policy varies from campus to campus and even from classroom to classroom.

“Basically it’s up to every single classroom teacher to protect their own space,” said Venice English teacher Hazel Kight Witham.

She worked with colleagues last year to try and implement a phone-free school policy, but was stymied, in part because of a lack of resources to store confiscated devices. Even efforts to strengthen enforcement eroded as the school year wore on.

School publication The Oarsman reported “some students feel that nothing has changed,” in May.

“It’s absolutely exhausting trying to stay alert all the time,” Kight Witham said. “Telling students the same thing over and over again and it still happens.”

Board member Melvoin said he would like the district to consider investing in phone cabinets or bags that create a physical barrier between the student and their device and that it is possible that funding could come from bonds.

“I really want it implemented so it’s not just an honor system,” Melvoin said. “I don’t want the kids to feel the temptation or the teachers to check it.”

The new policy will not restrict the use of district-issued tablets and computers. Families will also be notified of how to contact their child during school and in the event of an emergency.

An invoice recently passed in the California Assembly would require schools to adopt policies to limit student smartphone use by July 2026. Assembly Bill 3216 advanced to the state senate in late May.

Los Feliz parent Kaveri Nair said she wants her elementary-aged son to attend a middle and high school with a strict cell phone policy in part so he can learn to focus on the task at hand .

“Part of being in school is that you like to learn, hopefully, train your mind to pay attention,” Nair said.

She also worries about bullying.

“I don’t want this merciless machine to chew it up, like people being cruel and fighting,” Nair said. “It’s already enough in real life and it’s reinforced so badly on social media.”

Lessons from a cell phone-free high school

Katherine Johnson STEM Academy became a “phone-free campus” in spring 2022. The school enrolls about 150 students, mostly from Westchester, Playa del Rey and Playa Vista.

“We love technology,” Principal Kyle Hunsberger said, nodding to the T in the school’s name. “But the reality is that the devices our kids were bringing to class were causing anxiety, stress — a constant FOMO of what they were missing from their devices.”

Hunsberger, who started in LAUSD as a teacher 20 years ago, said technology has far surpassed analog classroom distractions like passing notes and paper football.

“The challenge with mobile is the constant barrage of notifications students are getting,” Hunsberger said.

Cell phones and wireless headsets are not permitted on campus from the time a student enters until the end of the school day. Every student who brings a phone gets a sticker with their name on it and places it in a locker at the start of the day. Educators confiscate any visible equipment and keep it until the end of the week.

Parents who need to contact their child call the school’s main office or use the school’s digital platforms to contact educators and administrators. The same platforms also allow the school to contact families within minutes to provide urgent updates, for example, about a school lockout.

Hunsberger also shares a Google voice number that rings to parents on his cell phone.

“Teachers are not spending their time telling kids over and over to put their phones away,” Hunsberger said. “It allows students to really focus on academic learning.”

Hunsberger said having a district-wide policy could make it easier for other schools to follow in the Academy’s footsteps.

Weigh in on LAUSD’s technology policies

LAist wants to hear from you too. Use the box below to tell us:

• Politics in your school
• The impact of social media and cell phone use on you, your child or students
• What is important for the district to consider as it considers creating a new policy

We will read every response and may be in touch for a future story.