The two biggest Clark County school districts, Vancouver and Evergreen, are among those developing cellphone policies they hope to have in place in time for the next school year.
In August, state schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal published guidance for districts and called upon them to adopt policies to reduce cellphone distraction by the start of the 2025-26 school year.
“Reducing the use of cellphones in class improves concentration and learning, improves mental and physical health, and reduces pressures caused by social media,” Reykdal said in the guidance document.
Cellphone use among young people is prevalent. By age 10, 42 percent of children nationwide own a phone, 72 percent have them by age 12 and 91 percent by age 14, according to the 2021 Common Sense Media report.
Some schools in the Vancouver school district have already adopted their own policies. Vancouver School of Arts and Academics requires students to keep their phones in numbered plastic pouches at the front of classrooms to limit in-class usage, which started this fall. Columbia River High School also implemented a similar policy this year.
Vancouver Public Schools officials are looking at how the district “can create a cellphone policy that supports learning and mental health in our schools but also values what the schools and students need as well,” Kathy Decker, a member of Vancouver’s elected board of directors, said Monday.
In October, the district surveyed staff, families and students about cellphone use during school hours and received 7,000 responses.
Evergreen also conducted a similar survey of administration, staff, family and students, which received about 3,000 responses.
“Our board of directors is currently looking into establishing a districtwide cellphone policy,” Mike Tokito, Evergreen Public Schools communications spokesman, wrote in an email.
Currently, both districts let individual schools set their own cellphone policies.
“We want to make sure that we give schools the flexibility to make changes that work for their schools,” Decker said.
Survey results
Learning disruption is among the districts’ top concerns. The majority of Vancouver district staff members responding to the survey indicated they “strongly agree” that students using cellphones in school hurts their learning. The majority of Evergreen Public Schools administrators and family members also agree that cellphone use during class disrupts learning. The students, however, disagree.
According to a 2024 Pew Research Center study, 72 percent of teachers around the U.S. agree that cellphone use is distracting learning during class, and most say cellphone policies are hard to enforce.
Although Evergreen’s survey did not ask about cellphone access during emergencies at school, safety emerged as a big concern in Vancouver’s survey. Eighty-four percent of students strongly agree that it’s important to have a cellphone at school for safety or emergencies.
Both districts asked parents and students whether cellphones impact student behavior, including bullying or social conflicts during the school day. The majority of Vancouver parents responded “agree” or “strongly agree,” but the students disagreed or weren’t sure. Most Evergreen parents and students have not experienced bullying through cellphone use in school.
Next steps
Vancouver Public Schools officials expect to have draft proposals ready for consideration in December. Then, the school board will decide whether to modify the cellphone policies for the 2025-26 school year.
Evergreen Public Schools board members were presented with the survey results in previous board meetings and will continue to deliberate about a potential districtwide cellphone policy.
