Over the past year, restrictions on cell phone use have been tightened in schools across the country because some educators view them as a distraction from instruction and because studies indicate that social media use among teens is having a negative impact due to increased cell phone use.

Last year, 10 states, including Indiana, passed laws against cell phones in the classroom. Other states that ban cell phones in the classroom include Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana, while Alabama strongly recommends that every school district establish a policy.

According to a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics, 77% of schools in the United States say they restrict cell phone use outside of class.

Craig Ortiz, superintendent of Morris Community High School, said he constantly hears from teachers who have problems with students using cell phones during class.

“This is a hot topic here, and I know it is at many schools,” Ortiz said. “We have long had a rule that students are only allowed to use cell phones in class at the discretion of their teacher.”

However, this policy was implemented at a time when teachers were using cell phones for parts of their instruction: teachers could use them for polls or interactive presentations. Cell phones are no longer required for this because Morris High School has one-on-one technology instruction and every student has a Chromebook.

Ortiz said that even then, teachers thought the usefulness of cellphone use was a double-edged sword. Some teachers encouraged students to look for information online, while others felt they had every right to tell their children not to take out their phones at all.

“The problem is that some of them, for whatever reason, don’t do it or don’t do it consistently,” Ortiz said. “That’s made it difficult building-wide, and I think we have more teachers who would welcome a building-wide ban.”

By “building-wide,” Ortiz means classrooms. He doesn’t think there’s any need to worry about cell phone use in the hallways or cafeteria.

“They’re using social media a lot, using it negatively or just not being present, and it’s not even that they’re doing something totally inappropriate,” Ortiz said. “They’re just texting people they shouldn’t be texting instead of focusing on their work. We’re in the predicament of having teachers take this into their own hands and knowing that if they send a child into the office, we’re going to support them administratively.”

If teachers don’t take students’ phones away or send them to the office, it’s harder for administrators to enforce something like a school-wide policy, Ortiz says.

Aimee Costello, an English teacher at Morris Community High School, thinks students should put their phones in bags similar to those used at comedy shows at the Rialto Theater in Joliet. Audience members are given bags to keep their phones in that can’t be opened until after they leave the show.

Costello said it’s not even bullying or Snapchats that concern her most: Students often text or Snapchat their parents. Some parents, Costello said, call their child in the middle of class.

The problem, Costello said, is the number of distractions children are exposed to. She has done a test with students where they put their phones on the table and watch how often they get a notification. Some students receive over 100 notifications in a single class period.

“It constantly demands your attention,” Costello said. “I think the only way it would work, and this is particularly important to me, is for schools to have cell phone policies. We’ve had one for years, students know they’re going to get in trouble and we take their phones away and send them to the office or whatever, but it’s so hard to enforce when you have 50 minutes with 30 kids.”

Costello said a teacher could spend 15 minutes rounding up the kids and the backlash could be crazy.

“They’re addicted, like the rest of us,” Costello said.

Students aren’t the only group of people addicted to their cell phones, and school may be the only place where their phones are taken away. Costello said some parents may have rules about putting the phone away at dinner, but that’s very rare.

Costello said that the administration is supporting teachers and taking action, but students are still sitting there with their cell phones out.

“I worry about kids’ work readiness because we all have to go without our phones to some degree,” Ortiz said. “My job doesn’t allow me to put my phone on silent when I go to bed at night. I have to have access, but sometimes I have to put my phone away and put it on silent when I go to meetings or interview teachers.”

One school that has already implemented the bag policy is Coal City Unit 1, a pre-K through 12th grade school district. The rule has been in place there for nearly five years, and phones are kept in a bag visible to students in the classroom, making them visible and accessible in the event of an emergency.

Superintendent Chris Spencer said the strategy has worked so far and he does not expect the strategy to change in the future. However, some teachers have had problems with students who have not followed the rules.

“It’s embedded in what we do now, and I think parents understand that,” Spencer said. “Students can access their phone when they need it.”

Ortiz and Spencer said part of the problem is that the people some of these students are texting are their parents.

“Some parents want their kids online every second of the day so they can reach them in an emergency,” Ortiz said. “The problem with that is — and we rehearse this with the police and when we practice — in a real emergency, we don’t want our kids communicating with other people because it hinders communication with emergency personnel. I know that goes against what some people want, but the last thing you want is for everyone to be on their phone.”

While most school districts in the Joliet area have developed policies to restrict phone use on campus, these districts are not taking any action to prohibit students from owning phones altogether. And no updates or changes to these districts’ policies are planned for the 2024-25 school year.

Joliet Township High School District 204’s personal electronic device policy specifically allows students to bring phones and other devices, including smart watches and handheld game consoles, to school and use them with staff permission, provided they are “not used in a manner that disrupts the learning environment,” including sending text messages or cheating.

The district manual notes that the contents of the devices can be inspected and that their use in locker rooms and bathrooms is prohibited.

Joliet District 86 is the largest elementary school district in the Joliet area.

“Because we are a preschool through eighth grade district, cell phone use is restricted in our schools,” said Sandy Zalewski, District 86 communications director. “Cell phones must be kept in backpacks and/or lockers during the day. Cell phones will be confiscated from students and parents must pick them up from the office if they are used during class.”