After the Carson City School District said it would start locking middle and high school student cell phones and smart devices in secure locked pouches effective August 19th, the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees discussed the possibility this week for its own students.
No action was taken, but some kind of new phone limitation Washoe County district wide pilot program is being considered to begin after winter break.
"We have to start looking at all of these opportunities that are inadvertently pulling us away from our goal, which is educating kids and preparing them for the real world," Board President Beth Smith said.
Some parents in opposition have expressed concern about reaching their kids in case of an emergency.
WCSD has an existing regulation stating phones and personal electronic devices need to be turned off unless they’re being used for instructional purposes, such as signing onto certain learning apps. Students though have been using their phones on school grounds during school time for cyberbullying, spreading misinformation and recording fights, which also all happen outside of school.
Since the WCSD is coming at this later than other districts in the state and country, it’s had the time to study other stronger bans, with potential liability when a phone is damaged or lost while stored away, the cost of buying phone pouches, and students having multiple phones or smartwatches and earbuds to access technology.
Some schools such as Reno High already have a bolstered cell phone policy, which in that high school’s case also prevents use of cell phones, earbuds or smart devices in hallways and bathrooms during instructional time, as that’s been a common way for students to evade any teacher restrictions during class time.