Would a policy that enforces decreased screen time be beneficial for students? Paschal is one of many Texas schools that is debating whether or not to agree with that question. 

Since July of 2024, states all over the U.S. have agreed and have started voting to implement phone ban policies in their school districts, reaching multiple Texas ISDs. Grapevine-Colleyville, Keller, Lake Travis, Richardson, Houston, Dallas, and Austin are all Texas school districts that have enforced some form of a cell phone ban in their schools since the proposal this summer. Many vary in execution, some mandating students put their phones into a guarded pouch during school hours, while others only request that students put their cellular devices, headphones, and smart watches in their backpacks or leave them at home. 

The increasing number of school districts that are joining the trend of including a phone ban credit this newfound inspiration to a need to reduce distractions and address mental health concerns linked to excessive screen time. Teachers have noted that it is hard to capture, intrigue, and keep students’ attention when they keep their phones attached to their hands all day.

A common complaint of students that have been affected by such policies often brings up how students have several opportunities throughout the day that seem like a perfect and harmless time to check their phones, listen to music, and text friends. Times such as lunch, passing periods, or off periods. 

“I understand where they are coming from. From an academic perspective removing your distraction has to lead to an improvement right? The thing is I think in some aspects, it’s unnecessary the actions that they’ve taken,” explains Carter Naddy of Central High School, in Keller ISD. “There’s times when using your phone is okay in an academic environment. More specifically, time that is yours as a student such as lunch, or passing periods, or even free periods for upperclassmen. That time is individual to us as students, so removing phones during that time feels as though we don’t have any free choice during our own time.”

A consistent theme across personal opinions from students seems to be that they agree that phones can indeed be harmful to a learning environment, but the extremes that many districts are taking are creating a negative environment where students feel robbed of enjoyment, communication, and freedom. 

“I think not having phones is understandable,” says Landen Meredith of Central High School in Keller ISD, “but outright banning phones is too much.”

“I understand why schools have the no phone rule because yes, they can be disruptive when used for the wrong purposes,” justifies an anonymous student from Dallas ISD. “However, I also feel that we have a right to use them. If you are using it when you should be learning, then that is your responsibility and your choice. There is only so much that can be done to stop people. I think that as high school students, we are old enough to be responsible for ourselves and how we use our phones.”

Students are not the only ones complaining about the new phone bans; parents too have weighed in their concerns about the mandated policies that are affecting their children. Margret Attenwood, the mother of a Travis Lake ISD student, expresses her stance saying, “I can absolutely understand where school district board members may see the positives of this decision, but they lack the perspective of a parent. They don’t know the worry that you feel when dropping off your child, knowing there is a possibility that you won’t see them come home. Everyday students face the chance of experiencing one of the worst situations that has already happened dozens of times this year all across the country. These district board members aren’t helping protect these children, but want to further them from any last communication with loved ones.”

This sentiment is not a new one, but is still fresh after the devastating shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia on September 4th. With two teachers and two students pronounced  dead before the end of the school day and nine individuals taken to the hospital, people are still riddled with the anxiety of getting the news that they won’t get to see their spouses, brothers, sisters, teachers, or children again. 

Thanks to kids having their phones during the school day, news outlets have received final moment text messages between loved ones and videos of students trembling as they hide from the intruder. 

Though the main function of a phone is communication, phones provide so much more: reminders, healthcare, navigation, access to a camera, music, and payment. These reasons are precisely why phones, especially for teenagers, carry so much importance and why a phone ban in high schools threatens the safety and livelihood of teens. 

However, it’s far too soon to make the claim that removing phones from the classroom will indefinitely prove to be a good or bad thing, so we’ll have to wait a while for any statistics to sway parents, students, and faculty. How would you feel about a phone ban starting at Paschal?