Texas House Bill 1481 was passed on June 20, banning students from using personal devices during the school day. The policy includes devices like cell phones, smart watches, personal laptops and tablets. To enforce this policy, schools can assign disciplinary consequences to offenders and confiscate devices, but the range of policy enforcement paired with the broad and sudden impact of the law has made this policy controversial.With a couple of exceptions, students are prohibited from using any devices besides district or school-issued digital communication devices.
At Clements High School, this policy will be implemented through a mandate requiring students to keep all personal devices in bags from 7:20 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. There have been a variety of reactions from students, teachers and staff.
“Students have been adapting very well to the cellphone policy from the very beginning with reminders,” Assistant Principal Romulo Crespo said. “I really have not had a huge number of repeated offenders. Usually, by the first or second time, students understand the level of consequences and the overall risk of using their phones.”
With the implementation of the policy, there may be concerns about administrators and teachers being overworked. Some explain that since the policy was implemented so suddenly, there may be an adjustment period for students, which can bring increased disciplinary infractions for those unwilling to comply with the policy.
“I have not had any added stress,” Crespo said. “I think this is also due to previous stricter rules about cellphones, having laptops last year with the additional requirements of phones staying in backpacks during class time set the expectation. Now we just have to remove the hallway and lunch time cellphone use.”
Some teachers agree with this opinion, since many classrooms have already had limited cellphone use. However, other staff members have differing opinions.
“There are some stressors with having to be on the lookout for cellphones,” librarian Marion Brennan said. “I have heard of some teachers taking away phones from kids before and after school, and I don’t think that should be enforced…I have heard that some teachers are ecstatic.They feel like students are getting a lot more out of instruction, completing a lot more work and performing better on assessments.”
But academic workload is highly personalized from student to student. Some students find that their academic performance has not significantly changed, while others have experienced significant growth in their academics, which they attribute to the new cellphone policy.
“I remember struggling in sophomore year with three APs, but now with six APs, it doesn’t feel as bad as last year,” junior Trisha Sahu said. “Although we weren’t allowed to use phones in class last year, most of my teachers wouldn’t enforce it, and I would waste time in school scrolling instead of doing something productive, increasing the stress and reducing my grades. Since the ban is actually heavily enforced now, I actually do my work in class.”
Academic benefits are recognized by students as well as teachers. Although the academic repercussions of the cellphone policy can vary from class to class, some teachers report that their students are more focused in class and able to take care of their assignments without distractions.
“Having taught AP Precalculus for three years now, for the most part our students have been following the same kind of trend of doing homework in a timely fashion and, as a result, being successful on the AP exam,” AP Precalculus and AAC Geometry teacher Keith English said. “I have recognized that I have had some students not as consistent doing their homework, but they do their best to be attentive and participate in class. I am often very surprised and pleased to see that they do well on the AP exam.”
As some students are able to stay more focused on their academic workload, students appear to be expanding their academic interests into other activities, which can prove to have even more mental health benefits.
“It is phenomenal, the increase in books being checked out at Clements,” Brennan said. “Clements has always had a pretty decent representation of books that are circulated. However, since the cellphones are gone, there is definitely a lot more reading time seen not only in physical copies but also in digital books through Sora and Libby.”
While physical threats and bullying have not been a very prevalent issue at Clements, other forms of harassment persist despite the efforts of teachers and administrators. The cellphone policy may be helping with some of those.
“Cyberbullying was pretty common in Clements, and we had to frequently help out with issues like that,” Crespo said. “After the cellphone policy, social media is not as easily accessible. Cyberbullying has decreased and there is less time to post things that upset other kids.”
It also gives students more opportunities to interact with friends and build close friendships. Brennan said she saw an increase in student interaction.
“I feel like there’s definitely lots of groups at Clements High School,” Brennan said. “I see the same social groups that used to go on their phones in the morning and after school, but they’re not on their phones. Kids are either working or talking. Even though they are allowed to have their phones before and after school, they still interact with each other much more.”
The policy lengthens the amount of time students are able to spend face-to-face. However, students note that the type of conversations they share with friends may also be changing with the cellphone policy.
“The cellphone policy has made it easier to connect in-person,” junior Izabella Garcia said. “I have more frequent and deeper conversations with friends because they aren’t on their devices. It gives students a sense of belonging and, of course, reduces stress.”
Teachers note that students have more energetic interactions, not only among themselves but with teachers as well.
“I really felt a renewed vigor at the start of the year with this change,” German teacher Lauren Davis said. “I mean adults with fully formed brains do all kinds of things to try to form better cellphone habits, and I don’t know what the best plan is for teenagers. But I have noticed increased energy in the classroom after the policy.”
However, the policy has some negative aspects and can cause stressors to add up. Junior Aarna Kapil said that the cellphone policy has limited some ways students let off steam during the school day.
“At Clements, a lot of students love listening to music,” Kapil said. “It allows them to reduce stress. There are some ways to download music, but a lot of students don’t find it convenient to download their entire playlist onto their district device. The cellphone policy may be helping students academically, but it prevents students from relaxing and listening to music, and potentially focusing better.”
Additionally, students have alternative approaches that do not completely eliminate cellphone use during the school day. Some students, for example, think cellphone bans should be put in place during instruction, but can be relaxed during other parts of the school day.
“Prohibiting cellphone use during classes can definitely help students’ academic performance and let them talk with their peers,” junior Shruthi Nythruva said. “But preventing students from using their cellphones during lunch isn’t as necessary.”
While many students agree that the cellphone policy can be modified to accommodate more technology use, some teachers believe that distractions can be further reduced.
“I have noticed that we are still having issues with inappropriate screen time use, but it’s now related to the laptops,” English said. “Whatever they did on phones, blatant or secretive, is now transferred to laptops. Managing the classroom, setting expectations, and making guidelines clear regarding when it is appropriate to be completing different activities on the laptop falls on the teachers.”
When asked whether the policy is helping teachers and not just students, some teachers agree that the policy is providing much-needed backing for classroom discipline rules.
“I think the policy doesn’t cause me stress,” Davis said. “It feels good to have support, since I always had limited cellphone use in my classroom. I think it’s complicated but I think I agree with it—it’s like a non-negotiable way to teach better habits.”
When looking into the future of the policy and potential changes, it is important to look at the vast impact it has already made. Overall, many would say that it is a net positive for the school environment, improving academic performance and fostering more face-to-face interactions, though it still does have its cons and areas where the policy could be improved.
“Cellphones are like drugs or smoking or drinking,” Crespo said. “Cellphones create mental and emotional dependencies and reduce our students’ thinking capacities. Everything is so simple and accessible; students don’t feel like they need to persevere. Elementary school children have especially been affected by easy access to cellphones and online entertainment. The only wish I have is that it should have been enforced twenty years ago.”
