On Tuesday, Oct. 8, the Carbon County School District announced that, as of Monday, Oct. 21, it would implement a new cellphone policy for its secondary schools. The policy will ban cellphone usage during the school day at Mont Harmon Middle School, Helper Middle School and Carbon High School.

In a statement issued by district Superintendent Mika Salas, she explains,” Our primary goal is to reduce the overwhelming distraction to learning caused by cellphone use in school … We understand that this is a big change and parents will have many questions … We will continue to share information from now until the planned implementation day to help ease the transition for students and parents. We appreciate your cooperation as we work to support our students through this transition.”

This change has led to some questions being asked, such as how will parents get ahold of their students during emergencies and how will the phones be handled during the school day. The CSD has provided the public with access to a frequently asked questions document and infographic to help educate them more on the subject.

Cellphones during the day will be stored in a school-provided sealing and signal-blocking pouch. This is a method that has been implemented in other parts of the state, namely, the Granite School District in the form of Yondr Pouches, which are magnetically sealed pouches that restrict students from using their smart devices on school grounds. Devices then need to be unlocked through an “unlocking base” which unseals the pouch as the student leaves.

Some parents are concerned about how this would impact their students during an emergency. In the frequently asked questions form, the district explains,” Every classroom will have an unlocking device and students will be allowed to unlock and use their phones during an emergency.”

The infographic also lays out the punishments for students who violate the policy. First-time offenses will result in the phone being confiscated, with students having to fill out a form, and parents to retrieve the phone. Second-time offenses will result in a repeat of the initial protocol, along with a conference with the student. For every subsequent violation, the student will receive three days of in-school suspension, a student-parent meeting with school administrators, and a restorative instructional assignment.

These rules will be enforced on campus during school hours. This includes in between periods and at lunch. The exception to this is high schoolers who leave school grounds during lunch, who will be able to unseal and use their phone during that time frame.

Parents who need to contact their child after these changes are implemented are encouraged to do so by contacting the school, who will quickly relay this information to the student. 

This change comes at a time when proposed legislation aims to make this the standard policy for schools across the state in hopes of aiding the mental health crisis some attribute to phone use and social media. Further answers to potential questions can again be found on the district’s frequently asked questions page.