As Utah kids file back into school hallways in August, some will be met with new cellphone policies.
Districts spent the summer reviewing their rules after a new state law created a default ban on phones in the classroom.
The law took effect July 1 and bans students from using cellphones or smart watches during instructional times. But it also gives individual districts broad flexibility to create rules that are more or less restrictive.
KUER reached out to all 41 school districts in the state to ask how they are approaching cellphone use and what kinds of restrictions they will place on students.
Some districts already had policies in place that aligned with the new law. Even so, it caused them to review their stance. Some decided to keep things as is, while others made their policies stricter. Others did not previously have an explicit policy and left those decisions up to individual schools.
In most communities, the districtwide policy is the “floor” as far as restrictions on personal student electronics go. Individual schools have the option to be more restrictive. For example, a district’s policy may only ban phones during class time, but a school could decide to also restrict phone use during passing time and lunch.
Several places differentiate by age group, applying stricter rules to younger students and allowing more access for older ones.
As KUER surveyed district staff, four broad categories of different types of bans emerged.
Full ban
On the most restrictive end, some districts will ban students from using phones whenever they are on campus. That includes the entire school day, but also extends before school starts and during any after-school programs.
Juab, Logan, Morgan and Ogden school districts reported having a version of this kind of ban, but only for elementary school students.
Bell-to-bell ban
This increasingly common policy prohibits phone use throughout the school day, including class, passing time, lunch and recess.
Gov. Spencer Cox has said he wants Utah to have a “bell-to-bell” ban statewide and hopes that happens in the future.
This type of ban is more common for elementary schools, though some places have extended it to middle and high school students.
Banned except at lunch
A small number of districts restrict students from using phones during class and passing time, but allow them to use those phones at lunch.
Banned during class
The most common type of cellphone restriction was the default ban spelled out in state law, where phones are not allowed during class time but permitted during passing time and lunch.
Some districts noted that while this is their official policy, individual schools already had more restrictive rules in practice.
Can students still bring phones to school?
Generally, yes. Many policies explicitly state that while phones may not be visible or used during restricted times, students are still allowed to bring them to school. In several cases, students are not allowed to have their phones in their pockets. They must stay in backpacks, lockers or a designated spot in the classroom.
Some schools with “bell-to-bell” bans have magnetic pouches that students lock their phones in for the day.
Many policies also state that students cannot take their phones with them when using a hall pass. Locker rooms and bathrooms are typically off-limits, as well.
Exceptions to the rule
The state law mandates that schools allow students to use their phones if they need to respond to an emergency, address a medical necessity or use the SafeUT Crisis line, something mental health advocates had been worried about. Exceptions can be made for students with disabilities who have individualized educational plans.
Many districts also give teachers discretion to permit phone use during class for educational purposes, like for an art project where students would need a camera.
Some districts are still working on policies
A handful of local school boards are still working to solidify a new policy for their district and plan to do that during their August board meetings. While some have a sense of what the final policy will look like, others are still debating what is best for their community. Both the Davis and Millard school districts said they would not be able to comment on what their policies might entail until their school boards vote to finalize them.
As of the publication date, the North Summit and Tintic school districts had not responded to KUER’s request for information.
