The Park City School District has set strict limitations on student cell phone use during school hours, following what’s become a state and nationwide effort to take smartphones out of the hands of kids to remove the distraction, prevent negative effects on their academic performances and counter detriments of social media.“Most of the time, we would like to see it put away,” Superintendent Jill Gildea said. “We really want to give kids that chance to not have to be so connected to their cell phone. They will be as adults. They can take a break and not have to be so connected yet.”Though the district’s new policy allows for students to use cell phones “for a purpose documented in the student’s individualized education program” or 504 plan, the overlying policy itself is quite definitive and offers little room for interpretation: “Students are prohibited from using cell phones at all times.”Still, according to district spokesperson Heidi Matthews, the way the policy is enacted and followed varies from school to school within the district.“It allows flexibility for each school to determine how to best implement the policy, resulting in variations in enforcement across different campuses,” she said.At Ecker Hill Middle School, Matthews said students have been required to keep their phones out of sight and in their lockers, backpacks or other secure locations throughout the school day for over five years.At Park City High School, she said students must follow the policy by storing their phones during class, though enforcement is different depending on different classrooms. Teachers are to establish their own classroom procedures, and they each have been given storage caddies where they can have students leave their phones during class.And in Treasure Mountain Junior High, she said, there’s a system that seems to have come from further outside the box or, more specifically, the bag.At the beginning of each day, students put their phones into patented pouches made by the company Yondr. They stay locked in the pouches all day, though teachers can unlock the pouches earlier in emergency situations.“Students may also tear the pouch to access their phones, but this is expected to happen only in extreme cases. If a pouch is torn, it would need to be replaced,” Matthews said. “The policy ensures that phone use is restricted to improve focus while allowing for flexibility in emergencies.”Park City Education Foundation is funding the experiment.“The district believes that limiting cell phone use enhances student engagement and minimizes distractions, leading to better learning outcomes and improved overall well-being,” she said.As they have in the past, students are still permitted to use laptops as the cell phone policy doesn’t prohibit them.Wider effortPark City Schools’ decision was made with a significant amount of positive feedback from parents and community members who backed their crusade against pocket computers.Its efforts against the negative potential cell phones can have in the hands of students during the school day are not isolated, and similar rules and policies against cell phones are being implemented around the state and country.In January, Cox sent letters to the leaders of school districts throughout the state outlining his concerns about the potential harmful effects of social media.“We all know that cell phones are a distraction and when we put phones away we can actually focus and study,” he said at the time. “Cell phone-free learning environments will help our teachers teach and our students learn. We want to give our schools every opportunity to succeed and so I hope our local school districts and charter schools will join me in this effort to keep phones in backpacks or locks during class time.” Several districts have passed policies and rules that follow his invitation. Many high schools no longer allow students to keep their cell phones in sight while class is in session, let alone use them. Several states have even taken the initiative to a legislative level, and Utah could soon join them.Last month, Utah lawmakers Sen. Lincoln Fillmore and Rep. Douglas Welton introduced a bill that would prohibit students from using cell phones, smart watches or emerging technology — meaning anything that can act as a cell phone extension — during “instructional hours.”The bill does include exceptions for specific needs and medical necessities.The drafted legislation would also give $4.85 million to the state Board of Education to use to fund a “Cellular Device Use Prohibition Grant.”The post Park City joins crusade against phones in schools appeared first on Park Record.