In your opinion, should students be banned from having cellphones in K-12 schools?

👍 Yes (49%) – "Teenagers cannot help but check their phones even when they have the absolute best intentions. I've been teaching high school for 15 years and always had a "keep it hidden, but you can keep it" attitude. In recent years, I noticed students unable to abide by the rules. They would try to have a show streaming while they worked in an essay, they would constantly touch it without thinking about it, they would pull it out when they went to the bathroom. It got to be a constant interruption. This year, phones go in a pocket. Kids complained, but they admitted it is helpful. It's a life saver for me."

• "I have watched my own kids struggle with focus in the classroom because of cellphones. In the same way you put your phone away while on the job, students should put their phones away during class. And the reality is they aren't going to do that unless there is a rule preventing them from using them."

"Students are ever-increasingly reliant on omnipresent AI, video games, and online communication without any frame of reference or perspective on critical thought (or why it's important). School should be a place for them to engage woth other humans, without those obstacles in place - and to learn how to use technology as a tool, not only as a toy. Evidence is obvious that they DO NOT get this at home, generally spreaking, nor certainly from consumerist society at large."

• "I'm a high school teacher. Cell phones are the number one problem when it comes to student performance. The students are addicted to their phones. They seem to have the attention span of goldfish. Additionally, it's a safety issue. Students plan drug meet ups in the bathrooms, plan to attack other kids, illegally record others, etc. There is also a shocking amount of cheating as a result if easy access to taking and sending pictures. It's to the point the kids don't even think it's cheating and believe they're just doing their work. If a person doesn't actually teach, they shouldn't tell schools how they should run. Just because you've been a student, it doesn't mean you understand the job of a teacher."

"Cell phone use is a major distraction. It damages kids’ attention span, is a hindrance to actual in person social interactions between peers, and kids are literally addicted. In an emergency situation every student having a phone going off is NOT improving safety. Before this generation no teen had a personal phone and parents were perfectly capable of contacting their student VIA THE SCHOOL if needed. I see NO upside to allowing kids to access their phones in the middle of a school day and it blows my mind that most parents would want that."

👎 No (28%) – "While I don’t feel that kids should have unlimited access to their phones in class, I would be very upset if my own children weren’t allowed to have them in school. One reason for why I feel this way is that our school recently had a lockdown then “hold”that lasted for most of the school day. That was the only way I could communicate with my kids. I used that to help them feel less anxious. I’m also a school nurse at the same school. There are kids with serious health issues and some, such as diabetes, and some not as serious ones that would need their phones to communicate with parents. Many teachers I know solve the issue of distraction by having kids put their phones in a bin or over the door shoe holder. That way, kids aren’t using them during class but have them in case of an emergency."

• "I come from a high school where we do allow phones, but we simply have them in a certain place (each person has a pocket on a wall-hanging organizer). Outright banning cellphones risks losing communication with student's guardians and otherwise (being able to call 911 at any time is pretty important for a place with a lot of people, especially with how many safety concerns many students have especially around pervasive threats of violence) that keeps us safe and helps us also feel safe enough to make it through the day. Using a pocket prevents the distraction while leaving phones accessible in case of emergency. I am currently writing this at school on my phone in one of the times we are allowed to use our personal devices."

"Students should be able to get a hold of guardians in case of emergency. However, there should be a line while in class - I propose having a basket on the desk where the teachers can visibly see the students' phones and they are not permitted to touch during class time. Silenced and face down. Of course there will be rule breaking but who didn't pass notes in class growing up?"

🤷 Unsure/other (23%) – "I wholeheartedly agree that cell phones can be a major distraction in the classroom; however, I also know that phones are not only tools that can open more learning and organizing capabilities, but they are also a temptation that will be in students’ lives outside of school. Part of our job is teaching students how to use this technology responsibly and resist the lure of its distractions. -12 year English and Journalism teacher"

• "I'm an educator who believes cell phones are a complicated issue. Banning them does not teach students to moderate their own use of them and probably increases the incidents of hidden use or secret second phones. I also understand a parent's desire to be able to contact their child in an emergency. But I've read about phone bans that have resulted in happier kids who spend more time talking and engaged in "real" activities with their peers at school; that's hard to discount. I'd like to see some proactive moves from all the stakeholders involved. Teach students tech management and the dangers of distraction and addiction. Have firm lines for cell phone use and natural consequences for students who cross them. Expect parents to not disrupt a student's day unless there truly is an emergency and expect them to support the school's rules instead of make excuses for their child's behavior. If we could all be on the same page about appropriate use of cell phones there would be no need to ban them."