Most days, when Ethan Beausoleil walks out the doors of ConVal High School, one of the first things he does is check his phone.
Starting this fall, Beausoleil, like students across the state, doesn’t access his phone during the school day due to a new state law banning student cell phone use from “bell to bell.”
Beausoleil’s world isn’t that different — it’s similar to his middle school experience last year, where phones weren’t allowed, either — but he feels the law is too restrictive.
“I feel like it’s a little bit too harsh,” he said. “I understand how phones are a detriment to our learning environment, but also I feel like students should be able to contact their parents in any situation, like an emergency.”
For the most part, the rollout of the cell phone ban appears to be going smoothly, members of the ConVal community said. The state law left the mechanics of enforcement up to local school districts; ConVal took the route of purchasing lockable plastic phone cases that restrict use throughout the day but allow students to keep their property on their person.
Each high-school student has received a case, a $14,200 expense for the school district, and is instructed to lock the case when they arrive at school, then keep it in their backpack. Once the final bell rings, principal Heather McKillop said, they visit a staff member to release it at various unlocking stations posted throughout the school.
Several students said they don’t like or don’t get the point of the cases. Beausoleil said some students choose not to lock their cases and just keep them in their backpacks. As long as they’re not on their phones, he said, it hasn’t been a problem.
Others, McKillop said, opt to keep their phone in their car or leave it at home altogether.
The law, while bemoaned by some, has made a difference.
“When I visit classrooms, I’m seeing students more focused on discussions, activities and one another, which is exactly, you know, what we hoped this change would support,” McKillop said.
Another student, 11th-grader Penny Murphy, said the ban has changed her day-to-day.
“I’m OK with it during classes and stuff because I barely use it,” Murphy said, “but during tasks, when I’m bored, I’m like, ‘Man, what do I do now?’ Nothing else to do.”
Students are still finding a way to use technology, though. Murphy said some kids just play games on their school-issued laptops instead of scrolling on their phones.
For the most part, McKillop said, the ban has removed distractions from the classroom and the shift has made school a more social place. The cafeteria is now is much louder than it used to be.
“I love that students are talking more with each other,” McKillop said. “I see more students looking up at each other instead of down. In the past, many more students were looking down at devices instead of up at each other, and it is a bit louder because of the level of talking that’s happening.”
