Quite a few Bay Area school districts start their new year on Monday, including Oakland Unified, where schools will have new cell phone restrictions.
It’s part of a statewide mandate requiring districts to have policies limiting or banning the use of cell phones on campus; Oakland Unified is one of the last major school districts to roll this out.
Elementary school kids will keep phones in locked classroom boxes, middle and high school students will store them in pouches, which they can carry, but only use if there’s an approved need for learning or an emergency.
This puts OUSD in line with a new state law, which requires school districts to limit or prohibit smartphone use.
Many districts, including San Jose Unified, started making students put away their phones last year.
Some parents and students NBC Bay Area spoke to were generally in favor of the policy.
“Kids should not have phones at school, especially when they’re trying to learn and phones, I think, just take their attention away from learning and being able to absorb critical information that they need form school,” Charlie An, a parent, said.
The district says phones will be allowed for documented medical needs and individual education plans. Staff can unlock phones that have been locked away if there’s an emergency.