By Carmen Nesbitt, Sorina Szakacs and Samantha Moilanen | The Salt Lake Tribune

Sixth grader Charlotte Bolke welcomed the breakup of what she called “the cellphone group” at school this year.

“[They were always] videoing each other doing TikTok dances, or watching TikTok, or even texting while standing right next to each other,” said the 11-year-old, who attends Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School in St. George, part of the Washington County School District.

Under a new state law that bans cellphones in classrooms but leaves the particulars up to districts, Charlotte’s district decided to ban cellphones all day for grades K-9, starting from the first bell until dismissal, effectively ending her classmates’ “cellphone group.”

“I think little kids should not be having cellphones,” Charlotte said. She appreciates the new rules, she added, since she’s not yet allowed to have her own.

For younger students, the divide between those who have cellphones and those who don’t is more apparent, parents and teachers told The Salt Lake Tribune. By high school, many kids are allowed to have phones, but the discretion varies more for elementary and middle schoolers.

It’s part of the reason why parents have overwhelmingly said they support the new all-day cellphone bans passed in several Utah school districts over the summer.

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.