Laurel High Updates its Campus Cell Phone Policy

The omnipresent cell phone is arguably one of the biggest distractions ever invented. Kids get a lot of crap about "always being on their phones," but many adults have one glued to their face from sun up to well past bedtime, too.

Multiple studies have proven that most social media platforms are designed to be addictive, followed by lawsuits validating the claim.

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Cell phone addiction can be even more harmful to developing brains.

At least ten countries now have laws, or are in the process of implementing rules regarding social media access for minors, including France, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, the UK, Canada, Denmark, and China.

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Laurel High updates its cell phone on-campus policy.

In a Facebook post on Friday, August 14, Laurel High School announced its revised campus-wide cell phone ban. The new rules say, "No Cell Phones, Earbuds, Smart Wearables" from the first bell at 8:10 AM to the last bell.

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Students must leave their phones in their lockers or vehicles. They are permitted to check their devices during the lunch break. A landline is available on campus for students who need to make a call.

Parents — mostly — seem to support the policy.

The majority of the Comments on the school's post were in support of the policy, and surely most teachers are too. One person wrote,

As a 25+ year educator, I have never had a child "need" their phone.

 

Since my school banned these devices, the distraction level in my classroom has gone down, student engagement has gone up, and students are required to actually do their work instead of getting their answers from the device.

 

They're actually talking to each other again, too.

Most schools in Montana also have policies restricting the use of devices in the classroom or on campus. The Montana School Boards Association estimates that roughly 9 in 10 school districts across the state have implemented some form of local partial or full cell phone restriction policy.