Schools are closed for the summer, but rules governing cellphones at school remain a hot topic in Oregon and across the country.

Last month, one of the largest school districts in the country, Los Angeles Unified, announced a ban on cellphones starting in January. New York City public schools could make a similar announcement soon.

A few states have passed legislation regarding phones in schools. Bills in Ohio and Indiana require school districts to pass policies to limit cellphone use, according to Education Week. Florida’s legislation completely bans the use of “wireless communication devices” in schools.

In Oregon, there haven’t been any changes at the state level. Officials at the Oregon Department of Education say they’re working on guidance around cellphone use in schools to be released this fall.

“The guidance will focus on research and support to help districts and schools set local policy related to cellphone use,” ODE officials said in an email to OPB.

Policing cellphone use in schools has long been a topic of debate, but between recent pronouncements from the U.S. Surgeon General, the continued challenges of returning to school after the pandemic, and concerns about how phones and social media affect children’s mental health, school and state leaders are reconsidering.

Oregon’s largest school district doesn’t have a policy — for now

Most large school districts in Oregon and Southwest Washington leave phone policy decisions up to schools or individual teachers.

That’s the case in Portland Public Schools, Oregon’s largest school district.

Kerry Zambrano, a science teacher at Benson High School in Portland, recently shared her perspective on the topic with the school board’s policy committee.

“Over the last 10 years, I’ve seen focus and interest decrease. Current students are less likely to engage in a discussion and make connections or problem solve,” Zambrano said.

This past February, Zambrano began strictly enforcing an “off and away” policy in the classroom. She said that enforcement took time away from lessons and helping students. But students complied when she asked — and there was a difference in behavior.

“Thereafter I observed them talking more with each other, looking relaxed, and catching up with friends,” Zambrano added.

However, Zambrano said one student decided not to go to class because they didn’t want to give up their phone.

“Policing cellphone use by individual teachers degrades the student-teacher relationship,” she said at the meeting. “If school staff enforced a single policy, it would be clear, consistent, and take away most negativity and or confusion.”

Though PPS does not currently have a districtwide policy for student phone use, it’s in development. Zambrano shared her comments in response to the board’s draft policy.

The draft policy is basically a version of Zambrano’s classroom policy. It allows students to have phones but keep them “off and away” during class time. That means students can use phones before and after school, as well as at lunch “unless the school has adopted a stricter policy.”

Almost all of the PPS policy committee members said they want a policy in place by September, but there is also a desire to strengthen it and get feedback from students and the district community.

“I heard a call for bold, efficient and effective action before the start of the school year, so we’ll see what we can do,” said committee chair Julia Brim-Edwards at the end of the meeting,

In the absence of a districtwide policy, Grant High School leaders announced a plan to contract with Yondr, a company that sells pouches for students to put their phones in. Starting this fall, at the beginning of the day, Grant students will lock their phones in a Yondr pouch and as they’re leaving school, tap the pouch to an “unlocking station” to unlock the pouch and remove their phone.

“While we believe that phones have great utility, we have found that learning and social behavior improve significantly when students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates,” Grant High School principal James McGee said in a message to families earlier this year.

At least one Portland school, the Mt. Scott Learning Center, already uses Yondr pouches, according to the Oregon School Boards Association.

In most cases, districts leave decisions up to schools

In Washington, Vancouver Public Schools has a districtwide policy on cellphones, but also allows schools to set their own policies. Last month, The Columbian reported one school, the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, will start requiring students to keep their phones in pouches during the school day.

Salem-Keizer, Oregon’s second-largest school district, has districtwide policies that mostly leaves use of cellphones up to schools.

“We are exploring the use of cell pouches in some settings, but at this point we are not planning for a districtwide implementation of these tools,” said Salem-Keizer director of community relations and communications Aaron Harada.

In Hillsboro, another large Oregon school district, officials updated cellphone policies last summer, requiring students to keep phones “off, away, and out of sight” most of the day.

But as in other districts, Hillsboro officials say enforcement can be inconsistent — it’s something school leaders say they want to work on this year.

Other school districts are taking it a step further. Leaders in the North Clackamas School District made the decision to spring for Yondr pouches districtwide. The board approved a $300,000 agreement with Yondr last month, using funds from the district’s Student Investment Account in the category of “behavioral health and wellness.”

In making its decision, North Clackamas shared survey data from staff, guardians and parents.

Out of 1,280 responses, the district reports 85% of those surveyed say cellphone use “has negative impacts,” including distraction, cyber bullying and increased anxiety.

A survey of 805 high school students in North Clackamas found 47% of students said their mental health was negatively impacted by phones.

Teachers elsewhere have also expressed frustration and concern with student phone use in schools.

At the June PPS policy committee meeting, Benson staff shared the results of a survey. According to the survey, which received 43 responses, 100% of staff had concerns about how student cellphone use affected mental or physical health. Only 20% of staff responded “yes” to a question about whether they felt supported by administrators when trying to enforce any phone policy.

The Beaverton Education Association, the union representing teachers in the Beaverton School District, recently passed a resolution calling for district leaders to “educate, enact policy, and take any further actions necessary to prohibit personal smart device usage by all PK-12 students during instructional time.”

“As educators who are working to create safe and effective learning environments for students, we must take a stand about the use of cellphones and smart devices within our school walls,” said BEA president Lindsay Ray during a June school board meeting.

“Many, many things are out of our control, and we must work to have a direct positive impact where we can.”

Beaverton School District officials say they will be “engaging in a collaborative effort with staff, students, and parents to take a comprehensive look at the use of cellphones in schools.”

But not everyone is ready to keep students from having access to their phones. Some students and parents say students should have their phones in case of emergencies.

Related: New York City is moving to ban phones from school. Will it work?

What do state officials think?

With the 2025 Oregon legislative session looming, state Sen. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland), education committee chair, said he wouldn’t be surprised if a bill on cellphones in schools comes up.

Dembrow said he supports keeping phones away during class time, but that it should be a school or districtwide decision.

“I believe that we should be empowering individual school districts — or even individual building principals — to make this decision on their own,” Dembrow wrote in an email to OPB.

In Washington, the legislature considered a bill during the 2024 session — but it did not move out of committee. The bill would have directed the state education department to create a report on student mobile device policies, pilot a cellphone restriction policy at different sites, create a school board model policy, and direct school districts to implement cellphone use policies by the 2027-2028 school year.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also expressed support for stronger legislation regarding cellphones in schools in a June 18 statement.

As for Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek?

She’s been quiet on the topic. Her spokesperson referred OPB to the Oregon Department of Education’s plan for guidance and said Kotek would “review any legislation that comes to her desk.”