School districts across the state of Connecticut will be required to limit their students’ cellphone use during the school day, according to a draft of new guidelines on personal technology use from the state Board of Education that could be adopted as early as this week.

The committee will vote on the guidelines for personal technology use in Connecticut schools at its special meeting on Wednesday. However, this version of the draft is not final and could change by then, according to a spokesperson for the state Department of Education. The proposed guidelines come just days before schools across the state begin again.

If the board adopts the draft policy and comment letter, it will serve as a model for cell phone policy that local districts can adopt.

“Given the risks and negative impacts on learning and mental health, local and regional school boards, in collaboration with school leaders, educators, families, and students, should develop and implement a district-wide policy on personal technology use in schools that includes cell phones and current and emerging technologies,” the draft states. “Therefore, the board strongly recommends that such a policy restrict cell phone use during the school day to ensure student engagement in learning, support emotional well-being, and strengthen students’ interpersonal skills, peer interaction, and social communication.”

The draft policy includes specific guidance for elementary, middle and high schools. The policy recommendations for elementary and middle schools both focus on removing cell phones from the classroom, whether by collecting and isolating cell phones upon arrival at school or in
According to the design, in the classroom.

For high school students, policies on cell phone access and use during the school day should continue to be restrictive and address students carrying cell phones during class, the draft policy states. However, the draft notes that “high school students may be developmentally ready to take on more responsibility for controlling excessive use and understanding responsibility for technology use to better prepare them for life after high school.”

The new draft policy comes after Governor Ned Lamont asked the state’s education officials to develop model policies that districts could use to ban cell phones in public schools.

This was originally part of Lamont’s legislative agenda, where he proposed a bill that would require the Connecticut State Department of Education to create and revise a model policy on cell phones and other mobile electronic devices every five years. “Such a policy shall take into account the diverse needs of students, such as age and grade level, and shall include appropriate enforcement provisions,” the bill states.

Although it did not become law, Lamont ultimately tasked the state Department of Education with drafting the policy, according to Lamont spokeswoman Julia Bergman.

Lamont is a strong advocate of tighter cellphone controls in schools and recommended in his State of the Union address that schools use devices such as the Yondr Pouch, a lockable phone pouch used at some concerts and events.

“I think we should ban these phones from classrooms,” Lamont said in an interview with CT Insider earlier this month. “Dozens of cities have already done that voluntarily, and we’re going to give them a little extra push now.”

Manchester is one of the first towns in Connecticut to pilot programs to restrict student cell phones. In December 2023, Manchester instructed students at Illing Middle School to put their phones in Yondr cases, which magnetically lock and keep the phones out of reach until they leave school. School officials had said the ban would reduce distractions and give staff and students the time and focus they need for teaching and learning.

And Lamont sees Manchester as a model for other school districts across the state. “Let’s get them out,” he said earlier this month.

Other cities, including Westport, Middletown and Torrington, have also started or are considering pilot programs to test the bags in their schools.

The draft policy includes excerpts from “model policies” used in certain public school districts, such as Torrington, Milford and Lisbon, which are intended to provide districts with a set of content they can consider when developing their own policies to limit cell phone use during the school day, the draft says.

“They are not intended to imply that one strategy or policy is better or more successful than another, as this must be determined by the local or regional school board to meet the needs of the district, its staff, its families and its students,” the draft states.

According to Bergman, there is no government funding associated with this policy.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 77 percent of U.S. schools currently prohibit the use of cell phones for non-academic purposes during class time. But policies vary widely, and opinions on the idea vary widely.