BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's largest school district is considering a cell phone ban in all of its classrooms. Officials claim the ban aims to help eliminate distractions.
"As you can imagine notifications going off and buzzing and ringing in the classroom and the teacher having to regather the students when that happens," said Ryan Newby, a counselor at Meridian Middle School.
The proposed policy states students in the West Ada School District would not be allowed to have personal devices on them during class time. That includes cellphones and tablets.
For now, smart watches would be allowed. But if they start to become a problem, those could later be banned too.
West Ada Trustee David Binetti had the idea for the policy last year.
"Our primary obligation is a distraction-free environment for our kids, and cell phones are the ultimate distraction," Binetti told KTVB. "So, removing it from the instructional environment so that our teachers can focus on teaching our kids and keep us at the top of reading and the top of math, it's where we want to be."
The policy states devices would need to be put in a "designated storage area," such as a bin in a classroom or a student's locker.
The district is leaving it up to leaders at each school to decide what that area will be, as well as what disciplinary action will be taken for those not following the rule.
Whether or not students would be allowed to use the devices on breaks, or at lunch, is also up to school leaders.
KTVB Channel 7 asked parents on Facebook what they thought about the ban, and overall reactions were positive. However, some parents were concerned they wouldn't be able to reach their child 24/7.
"Sure, that's an understandable concern," Binetti said. "But of course, anyone could always call the school at any time in the case of emergency, in case of needing to get information to and from their children."
Up until now, leaders at individual schools have decided how to best regulate cellphones. Some schools in the district already have similar no cellphones in the class policies.
One teacher thinks this will also take away pressures that comes with being on your device.
"When I remove the temptation from them, there's a sense of relief." said Delaney Martin, an English teacher at Mountain View High School. "I think it's time we make kind of that choice for them."
The biggest difference is the rule could become district wide.
The policy will get its third reading May 13, and then the board can vote whether or not to approve it.
If approved the rule would go in effect for the 2024-2025 school year.
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