Education Leaders Survey Report: Cell Phone Policies in K12 Schools
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In June 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote a powerful New York Times op-ed calling for schools to be “phone-free experiences." He cited research showing the dire impact cell phone and social media use have on children’s mental health. His warnings resonated with districts nationwide, who immediately began work on school cell phone policies.
According to Education Week, “at least 15 states have passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools statewide or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies.”
This year, we’ve seen more school districts engage with their communities to develop effective cell phone policies. They’re including staff, students, parents, and community members to discover why they need these policies and how to implement them.
For insights, we talked to 31 K-12 educational leaders at September’s DALI’s LeadHERship conference about their concerns with cell phone use in schools, and what districts should consider when developing school cell phone policies.
Using ThoughtExchange, we gathered their thoughts and recommendations. We used our AI-powered Advisor tool to turn their insights into a step-by-step plan to develop and implement a district-wide cell phone policy.
Read on to learn from the collective intelligence of educational experts.
In this report:
The impact of cell phones on learning
Education leaders are taking this issue seriously, with 62% of those we surveyed saying that school cell phone policies are important or very important for their students. They shared some of their top concerns about how cell phone use at school is impacting students:
Impact #1: Learning and success
 “I want students to be present in the learning environment.”
How cell phones in schools impact student learning and overall success and the distraction in the classroom is a well-founded concern.Â
A 2021 analysis of student cell phone use research found that the more time students spend on cell phones while studying and learning, the greater the negative impact on their academic performance.Â
Impact #2: Student interaction
“I believe cell phone policies are a powerful way to strengthen student interaction, because students are texting and solely using social media to interact.”
Ever heard of “phubbing”? If you’ve seen a group of teenagers (or adults) sitting together gazing at their phones, that’s what’s happening—their phones are literally getting in the way of face-to-face contact.Â
Research shows that the decreased face-to-face interaction associated with excessive cell phone use negatively impacts kids’ mental health, so it’s important to regulate their use in schools.
Kids have an unrivaled opportunity for face-to-face interaction with peers at school, and encouraging it can combat the negative effects of cell phones and social media. According to studies, “youth who sustained high levels of face-to-face socializing were relatively protected against the negative consequences of too much time online.”
Impact #3: Social media and safe use
“Social media activity leads to drama. We need to be teaching students what should be shared and what should be private.”
Many schools consider media literacy important, especially in the age of AI. But are they teaching social media literacy? In his NYT op-ed, Dr. Murthy asserts that “there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health,” and calls for warning labels similar to those required for tobacco companies.
The leaders we spoke to felt that as a part of cell phone policies, schools should include instruction on the safe use of social media, its impact on mental health, and online data privacy.Â
Identifying school cell phone policy challenges
Despite Dr. Murthy’s warnings, not everyone is on board with the concept of “phone-free zones.” The education leaders we spoke to have encountered resistance from some of their parents and community members around emergencies and extracurricular activities. They identified two main challenges in implementing effective cell phone policies.
Challenge #1: Parental involvement
“Parental support is a must. We need to know when they are ok with their child not having their phone and start from there.”
Many leaders identified parents as a key group in developing and implementing cell phone policies. Parents are paying for cell phones and want to be able to reach their children at their convenience. Leaders also noted that school safety is a big concern, and schools need to consider emergency communication.Â
Dr. Murthy is clear that parental involvement in teaching kids good cell phone “hygiene” is key. He affirms that “parents, too, should create phone-free zones around bedtime, meals, and social gatherings to safeguard their kids’ sleep and real-life connections—both of which have direct effects on mental health.”
Challenge #2: Effective engagement and communication
“Explaining the policy to all stakeholders. Allowing students to have a voice. Allow teachers to share their thoughts. Coming together to implement the policy.”
Effective engagement and communication are the difference between success and failure in school cell phone policies. Like many divisive topics or district-wide policies, everyone has an opinion, and different groups will be affected in different ways. Participants were adamant that any cell phone policies need to include staff, student, parent, and community member voices.Â
Districts need to invite more people to engage and gather deeper qualitative data rather than just surface-level quantitative survey responses. They need to follow up with comprehensive reports on what people shared and demonstrate how their feedback has been implemented in the policies.
This way, school districts can ensure that their cell phone policies are supported by a broad range of community partners, and aren’t dominated by a small group of loud voices.
Developing and implementing school cell phone policies
After using ThoughtExchange to gather real-time insights and expert advice from 31 education leaders, our AI-powered analytics got to work. And unlike traditional data analysis—which can mean spending hours or days transcribing Post-It notes and sorting data—ThoughtExchange’s analytics sorted, themed, and summarized their answers in seconds.
Then, we asked our conversational AI analysis tool, Advisor, to read through participants’ responses and create an action plan for school districts looking to develop and implement their cell phone policies. Here’s what we had within 17.3 seconds (yes, we timed it):
Advisor’s action steps
Based on the participants' responses, here are some recommended steps for developing and implementing a school district cell phone policy:
- Establish clear guidelines
Define usage scenarios: Clearly outline when and where students can use their cell phones, distinguishing between educational purposes and emergencies.
Example response: "Clear guidelines for when students can use AI are working."
- Engage stakeholders
Involve all parties: Ensure that students, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders have a voice in the policy-making process.
Example response: "Allowing students to have a voice. Allow teachers to share their thoughts."
- Educate and communicate
Policy education: Educate students and staff on the new policy, including the benefits and potential drawbacks of cell phone use.
Example response: "Explaining the policy to all stakeholders."
- Address safety concerns
Emergency protocols: Develop clear protocols for cell phone use during emergencies to ensure student safety.
Example response: "What are the alternatives if an emergency should occur?"
- Implement practical solutions
Physical measures: Consider practical solutions like using pouches to store phones during class or using devices to deactivate phones.
Example responses: "A pouch" and "A device to deactivate phones during the school day."
- Foster parental support
Parental involvement: Engage parents in the policy development process and seek their support for implementation.
Example response: "Parental support is a must."
- Monitor and revisit
Continuous improvement: Regularly revisit and update the policy based on feedback and changing needs.
Example response: "Clear expectations for all stakeholders based on collaborative decision-making and revisit frequently."
- Promote positive behavior
Social and emotional learning: Educate students on appropriate cell phone use and the importance of focusing on in-person interactions.
Example response: "Teaching students what should be shared and what should be private."
- Learn from others
Benchmarking: Talk to other districts with similar demographics to learn from their experiences and best practices.
Example response: "Talking to other districts of similar demographics."
- Implement system-wide procedures
Consistency across Schools: Ensure that the policy is implemented consistently across all schools in the district.
Example response: "Have district-wide procedures."
We did this with 31 educational leaders, but Advisor could have done the same with a group of 3000 or more.Â
Imagine engaging an entire community—staff, students, and parents—on your cell phone policy, and having hundreds or thousands of comments analyzed and distilled into a plan that speaks directly to their concerns and suggestions. In seconds, not weeks.Â
ThoughtExchange enables district leaders to respect their participants’ time and respond to their feedback far faster than traditional surveys and analysis allow.
Leading the way in school cell phone policies
We want to thank everyone who joined our conversation at DALI LeadHERship. Students are lucky to have such devoted and dynamic professionals dedicated to their success. We saw firsthand how much education leaders care about their students’ mental health now and in the future, and their commitment to making a positive difference in students’ lives.Â
And after speaking with leaders, we know that a comprehensive cell phone policy that includes a broad range of perspectives and speaks to their unique communities is what’s best for their students.
Many of our customers are currently holding these important conversations using the ThoughtExchange platform. They’re able to leverage our responsive, flexible engagement methods to get people’s real perspectives. They’re using our lightning-fast analytics to understand all angles and develop action plans that speak to their communities.