On September 23, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the “Phone-Free School Act,” a bill that would require all public schools in California to create rules limiting or outright banning cellphone usage during school hours by July 1 of this year.
Newsom has always been an advocate for limiting phones in school, spanning all the way back to 2019 when he signed AB272 into law, a bill that gave school districts the authority to limit the use of cell phones in schools.
For Los Osos, we are implementing a “no cell bell to bell” policy, which means that phones will be prohibited during class.
The main reasons for this bill being passed are to improve mental health in youth and to increase overall focus in school, for it has been at an all-time low in the age of the smartphone.
“We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues – but we have the power to intervene. This new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school,” said Gavin Newsom when speaking about the phone-free school act.
California isn’t the only state to take action, though; we are only the latest of eight total states to make these changes, the others being Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Two different studies done by Paw Research Center surveyed and found that 72 percent of high school teachers and 33 percent of middle school teachers reported phones as a major distraction in their classes. The other study found that 68 percent of parents in the US support phone bans in schools.
For Los Osos specifically, when the new rules were announced, teachers clearly agreed with the rule change because they wouldn’t need to fight against phones in class anymore. But of course, the student body of Los Osos had opinions on the change. Some students were disgruntled, some were annoyed, and some were understanding.
English teacher Mrs. Patton agrees with the rule change. “I’m not a fan of having to be the bearer of bad news or be the bad guy, but my job is to teach you, and I can’t teach you when you are addicted or distracted to your technology, and I think chromebooks should also be part of this conversation because how much of a distraction they can be”, she said.
Patton’s comment directly confirms that there is an issue and that something did eventually need to be done about phones being overly used during school. Patton continues, stating that cellphones aren’t the only issue and that any kind of technology, like Chromebooks, also contributes to distracting students in class.
“I don’t think the cellphone ban will be good for Osos in the long run. It’s probably going to cause a hassle on teachers’ ends, whether it’s needing to do more paperwork or dealing with some students, inevitably trying to break the rules, said senior Ali Shah when asked about the upcoming rule change. Of course, this new rule is going to spark change at Los Osos; the outcome of the change is uncertain because currently, not all of Los Osos’ student body fully knows about the rule change.
Shah continued, “Also, even with so much time to prepare for this rule change, they still haven’t properly communicated to the students as to exactly what is happening yet. A lot of people that I have talked to didn’t have a full understanding or any understanding at all about what the change is.” This, of course, can be bad; if students aren’t fully aware of the rule change, they may accidentally break the rules, which is just another burden on teachers.
After interviewing History teacher, Gilbert Delgadillo, it was evident that even teachers who supported the no cell-phone policy still faced difficulty while trying to enforce it. Delgadillo stated, “I’ve always tried to implement the no cell phone rule in my classroom, but it’s not easy to make students follow.” He explained that while he approves of the new statewide mandate and how it could help consistency, he is also worried about the extra responsibility falling on teachers while they try to implement this policy.
“I’m not against the policy, ” he added. “Most of the teachers agree cellphones are a big issue in distractions during the classroom, but having the legal pressure to enforce it every period every day, might take away from the actual teaching we are here to do.” Delgadillo noted that although he believes the new phone policy can contribute positive changes in the learning environment, the transition period will most likely be “messy”, especially if expectations aren’t clearly communicated to students in advance.
Delgadillo’s perspective echoes a larger concern across campus: the concern that many staff have about the burden of carrying out the statewide policy will fall heavily on their shoulders.
Some teachers have said it already feels like one more thing added to their plate.
As Los Osos prepares for the rule change, one thing is clear: the change of rules will require patience, understanding, and communication from staff and students.