LOS ANGELES — The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is jumping on the bandwagon and requiring school districts across Washington state to update their cell phone policies by next school year.

A new letter from State School Superintendent Chris Reykdal encourages districts to work with their communities next year, citing research from 2022.

By 2022, 95% of teenagers owned a smartphone, up from 73% in the 2014-15 school year, according to the Pew Research Center.

“The research is clear: reducing cell phone use in class improves concentration and learning, strengthens mental and physical health, and reduces the pressure caused by social media,” Reykdal wrote.

“This is very important to me. I believe that if something goes wrong, you should contact your parents in an emergency because a lot of crazy stuff happens in school, but I think they should put their devices away during class,” Carolyn Sand told KOMO News, referring to cell phones.

The OSPI guidelines cover emergencies.

In an emergency – such as a shooting, fire or earthquake – some parents told KOMO News they want their children to focus on the problem at hand, follow instructions or look for ways to stay safe instead of staring at their phones.

“I think you’re here to go to school. That’s your job and there are too many distractions. It’s too stressful,” Mimi Feuereberg told KOMO News.

Her daughter Natalie Delman, a teacher in Seattle public schools, told KOMO News she thought such a rule was a good idea because she had seen second- and third-graders using cell phones.

“They’re just more focused in class and make better progress when they don’t have access to a phone,” Delman told KOMO News. This new homework assignment is designed to help school districts create cell phone policies that limit use — by next school year.

But some of this research is not new, and many schools and districts already have strategies in place.

The Everett School District implemented its policy in 2019. The Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor implemented a policy last school year. Seattle Public Schools has a bring-your-own-device policy that allows personal devices in school or during online learning.

Individual schools can set their own policies, and some have done so. Hamilton Middle School in north Seattle will use cell phone pouches to prevent students from getting their hands on their phones during the school day when they return to school in September. Some schools also allow teachers to set policies for their classrooms.

But in this new report on cell phones, OSPI is calling on schools to implement uniform, school-wide policies to create ongoing and consistent expectations among students, staff and families.

“It’s a shame that school is starting soon, and it’s a shame that they couldn’t get something going nationwide for this year,” Feuereberg said.

KOMO News asked Reykdal: Why now?

“There wasn’t always enough evidence that the interventions worked. We didn’t have a really clear understanding of, what happens when you intervene? What happens when the kids put them in the bags or you tell them to turn it off? Is there consistent adherence?” Reykdal replied.

He told KOMO News that there are school districts in our state that have been through this and that we now have best practices that show what works and what doesn’t.

Students in Gig Harbor gave their comments to the Peninsula School District when it implemented a cell phone policy.

Students who agreed to restrict smart devices in schools wrote that this:

• Bringing the community together
• They felt more connected and seen
• Helped them stay on track and focused
• Improved their mental health
• Improved academic performance

The students also expressed things they did not like about this regulation:

• Must be better enforced
• Prevents the use of phones for reminders
• I can’t listen to music while studying
• Shifts the focus from the community to restricting mobile phones
• Politics helps, but students need room to maneuver

Reykdal encourages teachers to work with their communities over the next year to create a plan that is best suited to their local context and includes exceptions when a teacher uses devices as part of a lesson plan.

“Don’t reinvent the wheel. It’s already been done,” he said, urging school board members to take on this new political challenge and involve their entire community.

Reykdal told KOMO News it is the district’s job to create policies for school leaders that are tailored to the culture of their buildings.

“Because some teachers say it’s no problem, take your phone, others don’t. This is an inconsistency that is harsh and unfair,” Reykdal said.

According to a survey conducted earlier this year by the National Education Association, the vast majority of teachers (90%) say they support measures to limit phone use during class, and 79% say cell phones are very disruptive.

The State Board of Education also told KOMO News that learning standards would be changed this school year to include media literacy.

“So it’s not just about finding a sensible policy for using cell phones in the classroom, but also about making our children more aware of the impact that social media and media in general have on their interactions with the world,” Reykdal said.

He said these new standards would come into force in January.