Washington State OSPI Reveals Cell Phone Guidance For Schools
Cell phone use by students in schools around the State has been debated for years by teachers, administrators, parents, and the students themselves. There hasn't been a uniform guideline on how to deal with the issue, leaving individual schools (or districts as a whole) to handle it on their own. That lack of policy is being addressed as OSPI head Chris Reykdal has issued new guidelines for all districts to consider when crafting one.
Everyone Has A Cellphone So What's The Big Deal?
Think of it like this...how many people have the ability to use their cell phone at any time during their workday? If you spend a significant amount of time on your phone your productivity at work will decline, maybe enough to cost you your job. It's the same philosophy here. School is a child's "job" and studies have shown that cellphones can have an impact on learning.
The NIH published a study that showed a measurable effect on cognitive learning and memory among all ages, but particularly with kids. The Pew Research Center did a study in 2022 that showed what level of access teens have to electronic devices.
The increase in access to smartphones was dramatic. That study focused on 13-17 year olds, but its estimated nearly half of kids have a cell phone by the age of 10. What is also revealing (and to the dismay of many in education) is that 97% of teens not only use their phones during the day. Instead of using them to help in class, they are hitting social media, YouTube, or playing games instead.
I had this discussion recently with a teacher friend who works in a Tri-Cities school district and I thought her response was interesting. She acknowledged that it is an issue when students are paying attention to their phone instead of the material being taught, but she also said that the kid's phones tend to work faster than the school issued Chromebooks. If they use it for a learning purpose it can be beneficial. Getting them there is the main challenge.
What Are The Guidelines and Will It Actually Change Anything?
Reykdal is encouraging school districts around the State to create a uniform policy to address cell phone use during the school day. Things he would like them to consider in the creation of said policy can be found by clicking here.
Ultimately, the policy created by each district will have to have some teeth if broken by students otherwise nothing will change. One concern that will need to be addressed is in case an emergency arises. Many parents get their kids a phone for that reason, so any policy will have to address the students ability to access their phone during lunch, or another break period.
Maybe that is used at the high school level and in middle school and elementary students give their phone to the teacher at the beginning of the day and get it back at the end. The districts could also go 'old school' and have parents contact the office when they need to get in touch with their child. We've lamented to the nth degree the issues in the education system, but it takes parents, teachers, administrators, and students to be on the same page to change things. Hopefully they can do that here and noticeable improvements in learning will follow.
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