MIDDLETOWN – The Middletown Board of Education is considering revising its policies regarding the use of personal cell phones by middle and high school students.

Over the summer, public school officials formed a task force to study the implementation of special magnetic bags to store phones that would be locked when students enter the building, Superintendent Alberto Vázquez Matos told school board members during the Aug. 12 meeting.

This would also include Apple Watches, he said.

Earlier this year, Governor Ned Lamont asked state Board of Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker to require districts to adopt model policies banning cell phones in public schools, Vázquez Matos told committee members.

Task force members have interviewed principals and superintendents across the country about the pros and cons of the system, he said, while trying to best meet the needs of students.

They consulted research examining adolescents’ cell phone use and screen time and its impact on their cognitive and social development, added Vázquez Matos.

“From an ethical perspective, it is a matter of great concern to me that we need to address,” he told board members. “Many of us … see from our own experience how the excessive use of cell phones and the increased time spent on some devices has become a challenge for some of our students and also our teachers.”

Social media presence is particularly harmful for younger students, said U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

The superintendent cited recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics that link phone use, cognitive development and obesity.

The plan is to initially introduce the bags to middle and high school students. Eventually, the district will develop regulations that would apply to specific grade levels, said Vázquez Matos.

The goal is to reduce the time students have access to their devices in class, he added.

The children would be given a bag and would have to carry it around with them every day and bring it to class, he said. “At the end of the day, they tap the bag and the phone is released.”

Students are already required to register their presence by scanning their ID card at the door.

The technology could also introduce a “floating” magnet, said Vázquez Matos.

“If a teacher wants to use the phones for teaching purposes, for example, they can borrow one of these magnets and open the pockets,” he said.

Chair Sheila Daniels said she found the policy contradictory.

“Isn’t that contradictory to why we’re doing this?” she asked the principal. “We try to avoid using technology during the school day, but then we say, ‘Lock your phone, but you can come into my class and access… it.'”

Vázquez Matos said he agreed with their argument, even though the software offers this feature.

“I don’t want it to look like we’re doing this for punitive reasons,” he said. “We’re doing it because we’re dealing with a crisis that we’re experiencing nationwide.”

Member Liz Crooks asked what the policy was for students who said they did not have a phone but had it turned off and stored in their backpack.

“Unless there is a real security issue, as far as I know, you are not allowed to search her backpack,” Crooks said.

In this case, Vázquez Matos said, the student would follow the rule.

“The policy is clear: no devices,” he said. “If the student follows the policy and doesn’t show a phone, we don’t know there’s a phone there.”

However, once a phone falls into the hands of administrators, “there are consequences,” such as it being blocked or confiscated, he said.

If the bag is lost, students would have to pay for a new bag, just as if they misplaced their ID card.

Member Deborah Kleckowski confirmed that there had been a lot of positive feedback on the implementation.