By Audrey Auch / Staff Reporter
The high school’s new phone policy requires students to keep their phone in their backpack or locker during class time and passing periods. The policy is beneficial to both students and staff as it allows students to be more focused on their schoolwork and feel more connected to their peers.
With the new policy, students are less tempted to look at their phone since they are stowed away. The policy eliminates the “adjustment period” between when you put your phone away and when you begin to focus. This allows students to stay focused for the entirety of the morning and afternoon, even during breaks such as class changes or trips to the restroom.
This change benefits students, who now have more time to focus on learning rather than being frequently disrupted by distractions on their phones. Productive instructional time in the classroom also increases because teachers no longer have to repeatedly tell students to put their phones away.
The phone policy also bans cell phones and other personal devices during study hall. Previously, many students would use their study halls to socialize or be on their phones; now, I have noticed students in my study hall use that time productively instead.
According to Hackensack Meridian Health, reducing screen time improves sleep and enhances focus. This reduced amount of time on a phone sets students up for success during the rest of the evening. Reduced phone usage at school could also have an impact on students’ screen time outside of school, such as at sports or theater practices, or while completing their homework. They may also feel more inclined to use them less at home or during the weekend, which could lead to a healthier lifestyle overall.
The absence of phones during passing periods has also increased social interactions between students. Last year, the hallways were somewhat quiet in between classes, with the majority of students checking messages or social media before the bell rang. Now, students have become noticeably more conversational with their peers. I have noticed an increase of the volume in the hallways because of conversations happening between students.
Moreover, many students used their phones as a safety net to avoid potentially awkward conversations. Because students don’t have that option anymore, they are more likely to interact with someone they wouldn’t have before. These connections encourage students to forge new relationships that would have been less likely to occur before the new phone policy.
The new cell phone policy ultimately helps students both during the school day and outside of school hours. They are able to get more work done and be more focused in class, leading to more free time in the evening. Students are also more connected to their peers, which improves the school culture. Although students may lament their inability to use their phones during school, the benefits of the policy truly outweigh the drawbacks.
Con
By Natalie Fischer / Staff Reporter
Before the beginning of this school year, the Ohio Legislature passed the state budget, which included a provision requiring school districts to create policies restricting personal devices during the school day. Bexley’s policy for the high school requires all personal devices to be turned off and put away during the entire school day except lunch. The new policy harms students, as it eliminates an important tool for classwork and a helpful tool for focusing.
The phone policy makes turning some assignments in more inconvenient. Many assignments require a student to digitally submit a photo of their work. If a student forgets to submit their assignment before class, there isn’t a good way to take a photo of their work under the new policy. Before the phone policy was put in place, this wasn’t as big of an issue because students could quickly submit the assignment during class. For students who may rely on study halls to complete homework, they are essentially unable to turn in assignments of this nature during the school day, rendering their study halls useless.
Phones can also be a helpful tool in instructional settings. Many teachers put important reminders on the board at the end of class, such as due dates for homework or the answer key for an assignment. Theoretically, it is much easier to take a photo of the board rather than scrambling to write each point down. Due to the new phone policy, however, students must either attempt to take a picture with their Chromebook, which has horrible camera quality, or try to scribble the notes down as the bell is ringing.
Phones are not only useful in a classroom setting, but in between classes as well. Many students use their phones as a way to de-stress from any pressures in their life. After a stressful test, using the passing period to check their phone can be the perfect reset for some students before their next period. With the new policy, phones are banned in between classes, leaving students without a quick and easy way to reset.
The policy also bans all wireless headphone usage in school. Many students rely on music to help them focus, and many only own wireless headphones. Additionally, not all teachers have headphones to provide to students in their classroom, and those who do often don’t have enough for everyone in the class. Students who prefer music to focus will either need to purchase new headphones or go without music, which is not conducive to a positive learning environment.
Some may argue that students’ screen time will be lower for the day since they can’t be on their phone during school hours. While it might be less for some people, for many students, being away from their phone all day might actually make them want to be on it more after school. If students are doing schoolwork all day with no access to their phone, then when they get home, they may feel inclined to check up on notifications and posts they missed during the school day, distracting them from completing homework or other obligations.
Overall, the new personal device policy is not beneficial to students. Placing extreme restrictions on personal technology takes away an important tool for focusing, bans helpful resources for learning and restrains students from having an outlet to destress and reset throughout the school day.
Read more student perspectives on Bexley’s phone policy here.
Published and digitized October 2025.
