Missouri school districts have adopted policies restricting cell phone use during the school day (SDI Productions via Getty Images).
Amidst a plethora of back-to-school reminders, Missouri public schools are making a special effort to inform parents about a new state law banning cell phones during the school day.
The law, signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in July, requires school districts to set a policy barring students from using mobile devices except for in emergencies or when instructed by a teacher. And with most students returning to classrooms this week, districts have been warning parents about the new expectations.
“I don’t know any district that’s fighting this,” Susan Goldammer, policy chief for the Missouri School Boards’ Association, told The Independent. “Most of the folks that I’ve spoken to are secretly quite happy that they have a little bit of additional authority to explain to parents why (devices) are not allowed.”
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Goldammer wrote the association’s model policy that many Missouri school boards have personalized and adopted within the last month. Districts have asked about details, like exceptions for students with medical issues requiring access to cell phones, but they are largely ready to start the school year with the new policy.
Some Missouri districts already had bans on cell phones, while others were considering adding restrictions. For them, the law is a welcome addition and helps fight any pushback from parents and students.
“I have been surprised at how easy it was for districts to do this, and I can’t help but think that’s because all of the adults now are realizing it is not good to have the kind of electronic connectivity that kids have all the time,” Goldammer said.
The law is more restrictive than other states by banning cell phone usage throughout the entire school day instead of only during instructional time. But it allows for some nuances, giving districts the ability to choose how to enforce the policy and how devices will be stored.
Most districts have told parents that smartwatches are barred, citing the law’s ban of any “portable device that is used to initiate, receive, store, or view communication, information, images or data electronically.”
The Rockwood School District in Eureka, in a message to parents, indicated that it wasn’t completely banning smartwatches but that it expects students “to only use their smartwatch for the purpose of keeping time and not for communication purposes during school hours.”
The North Kansas City School District, though, will restrict all uses of smartwatches. The district included the question “Can my student wear their smartwatch if they aren’t using it for communication?” on its website, telling parents that smartwatches are barred but fitness trackers without message capabilities are allowed.
Districts also have different expectations on how devices will be stowed, though most are allowing students to have their devices turned off in their backpacks.
St. Louis Public Schools’ board of education approved a policy that allows for each school to choose its phone-collection method.
“This flexibility acknowledges the diverse operational needs and preferences expressed by elementary and secondary staff and families,” Superintendent Millicent Borishade wrote in her August newsletter.
In its Aug. 12 meeting, the board also approved the purchase of locking phone pouches from Yondr for Gateway STEM High School at a cost of $40,000.
Goldammer anticipates that more districts will be considering purchasing phone-storage systems and evolving their policies before next school year. With a little over a month between the law’s passage and the first day of school, districts had time to set policies, but many were not able to make large purchases that quickly, she said.
But for now, administrators will be working on the best ways to execute the policy.
“There will be a learning curve,” Goldammer said. “There will be kids that break the rules. There always are.”
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