SEATTLE — Earlier this year, Peninsula School District adopted a new cellphone policy that blocked social media on its network and restricted the use of mobile devices — including cellphones and smartwatches — to before school, during lunch and after school.
Why? Because students seemed constantly distracted by the sounds and vibrations of chat notifications and the lure of looking up an answer or loading a video. So far, the policy has met with little resistance and positive outcomes, which surprised some school officials.
We wanted to see what our readers thought about cellphones in schools and potential restrictions, so we asked for their feedback. The response was strong — more than 140 of you weighed in — and the verdict was overwhelming: Readers, many of whom identified themselves as teachers or parents, think cellphones have no place in the classroom.
We got responses from Anacortes to Issaquah, Steilacoom to Seattle. (For the record, students did not weigh in. Maybe we should have asked them to text us?)
Lake Washington School District’s Ronica Wilson, who has taught middle and high school for 21 years, said the “phone problem” is at an all-time high.
“I work very hard to create engaging lessons, and there is a growing population of students who choose to disengage and be sucked into their phone,” Wilson said. “I have so many jobs to do in my classroom; I would love for this issue to be a moot point.”
Gig Harbor mom Jess Svabenik, who talked to us on a Zoom call with three of her four boys, said that when the Peninsula policy was enacted, she sent “a heartfelt note” to the district, thanking them for “putting our children’s education first.”
Her oldest son, Ash Anderson, got his first phone this year, right before his 18th birthday. “He will have a cellphone most likely for the rest of his life but got to have his first 18 years untethered,” Svabenik said.
Her youngest, Roman Svabenik, is in kindergarten and said no one in his class has a phone. He doesn’t seem fazed by that fact.
Seventh grade twins, Holling and Avery Svabenik, go to Goodman Middle School and say Peninsula’s new policy has made their classes feel less disrupted.
“I think kids are getting more work done in class, and it’s also helpful for the teachers because more people are listening,” Avery said.
In the United States, some 43% of tweens (ages 8 to 12) and up to 95% of teens (ages 13 to 18) have a smartphone, according to a 2023 study published by Common Sense Media and the University of Michigan.
The study enrolled 203 11- to 17-year-olds and tracked their smartphone use for a week. Researchers found on a typical day, students received a median of 237 notifications, with about a quarter arriving during school hours. During school, almost all of the participants used their phones at least once, for a median of 43 minutes.
While some states and countries have passed laws restricting or prohibiting the use of personal devices in schools, Washington’s Legislature has left it up for districts to decide.
Seattle Public Schools, the state’s largest school district, does not have a phone use policy, though some of its schools and classrooms do.
For the past few years, Michael Rice, a teacher at Seattle’s Ingraham High School, has instructed students to put their phones in a caddy hanging on the wall and stash their earbuds.
At the start of class, Rice tells students: “While I teach [usually 30 minutes of a 55-minute period], I will have your undivided attention. Once I am done teaching and you have the assignment for the day, you can grab your phone. If you want to get better at Fortnite instead of doing my assignment, that is your decision. Just know that you have an assignment due tomorrow, and I do not accept late work.”
Some Seattle readers noted the conflicting nature of Seattle Schools suing major social media companies for contributing to the youth mental health crisis but not banning the use of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat in its schools.
One Seattle parent wants school administration to enforce mobile phone policies so teachers don’t have to.
“It’s time to stop the epidemic of distraction and get back to providing structure around this so teachers can do their jobs and students can learn in the best possible environment,” the parent wrote.
Holling Svabenik, the Goodman Middle School seventh grader, said before his school district’s new policy, he’d see a lot of students sitting at the back of the classroom quietly trying to use their phones underneath their desks. He said students could also benefit from using their phones less to communicate outside of school.
“There would probably be less fights on social media, and people could get their problems solved and not fight so long with texting,” he said.
All but a handful of reader responses favored some level of restriction of personal devices during the school day. Many said cellphones should be fully banned from schools. Others said exceptions and accommodations should be made for students who rely on their devices for learning, language interpretation or require medical apps to manage their health needs.
Vashon Island School District school counselor Tara Vanselow said the district has an “off and away” policy and has had similar outcomes to Peninsula — that is, improved engagement and learning.
“I believe there is a direct link between constant access to technology and the rise in social anxiety,” Vanselow said, nodding to a growing body of research on this topic. “We have forgotten how to interact and need to start exercising those muscles again.”
Many teachers and parents said they struggle with getting children, particularly teens, to curb their screen time. They also said it’s the responsibility of adults to model good phone habits. Some said this means adults should limit their personal tech use in school, and parents need to pause on reaching out to their children during the school day with nonemergency issues.
“I had a student two years ago who was using her phone in my class. I asked her to put it away. ‘But my mom is texting me!’ was the response,” wrote a teacher from Kamiak High School in Mukilteo.
Some readers said students can reach families through the main office, classroom computers or landlines if needed.
But Erin Sagadin, who has children in the Kennewick School District, believes cellphones “should absolutely be allowed in schools” to let students contact their families in the event of an emergency or school shooting.
“There are so many other reasons why cellphones shouldn’t be banned, but the safety issue is at the top of my list as a parent,” Sagadin said.
Renton parent Lorena Ortigoza would like to see more schools teach curriculum to help youth use technology in responsible, healthy ways. She also thinks schools should help researchers study the influences of cellphones, technology and social media on students so that better practices and policies can be developed.
“Helping our young people tap into their natural state of curiosity can help develop real innovations and also get a better understanding of how society has changed,” Ortigoza said.
