At the beginning of the school year, the district instituted a new policy prohibiting the use of smartphones during instructional time. The policy, which was required by Ohio House Bill 96, divided students; an October survey conducted by the Torch found that 66% of high school students did not find the policy restricting phone use at the school beneficial. Despite the implementation of a stricter phone policy being controversial, it is clear in hindsight this policy was a win for students.
In a study by the Pew Research Center, 46% of teens aged 13-17 described themselves as being online “almost constantly” in 2024, an increase from the 24% who reported the same in 2015. According to a report by U.S. News, this increase can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which students had to rely on digital communication more heavily than before.
The institution of a stricter phone policy has allowed students to revert to pre-pandemic academic habits. During the 2019-2020 school year, a phone ban similar to the one instated this year was put in place. Under the policy, students without an accommodation were prohibited from bringing personal devices into classrooms to create a disconnect between students and their devices, according to the Bexley City Schools website.
Although these provisions were still in the Secondary Schools Handbook last year, they did not maintain the same weight as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic and associated quarantine.
Returning to a more strict regulation has encouraged productivity within the high school. In recent years, the casual enforcement of the phone policy meant students frequently used their phones during their study hall periods. Furthermore, many students checked their phones during academic classes.
Reducing the influence of personal devices within the building has minimized distraction and fostered a better work ethic in these spaces. It also comes at no cost to students’ online access, as functions that require the Internet are still available through the school-sanctioned Chromebooks.
The phone policy has also allowed students to approach their phone usage more critically. As defined in a study by the National Library of Medicine, the term “smartphone addiction” refers to “the overuse of smartphones to the extent that it disturbs the users’ daily lives.” Smartphone addiction can have serious impacts on students’ sleep and concentration, and those affected may have worsened health or poor academic performance because of it.
According to a survey conducted by the Torch in March, 58% of students say they have gone to the bathroom during school for the sole purpose of using their phone there. Students who frequently retreat to their phones during class time should be acutely aware of that attachment and its cause. Although the phone policy is not necessarily a cure to smartphone addiction, its limitation of phones creates a needed severance between students and these potentially unhealthy habits.
The high school’s phone policy, despite its initial unpopularity, is training students to have a healthy relationship with their phones. As the world becomes more dependent on technology, understanding how to live independently of devices is a valuable skill and one of the most important lessons high school students can now carry with them after graduation.
Published and digitized April 2026.
