No Cellphones Will Be Allowed In This Illinois High School’s Classrooms

One high school in Illinois has a new policy coming up this fall.

The issue of cellphones in classrooms has been going on for years. Do we let the kids have them in case a parent needs them? If so, can we trust them not to get distracted and scroll through apps or send unnecessary texts? Or should we just take the phones away from the kids completely?

NBC Chicago says one Illinois high school is answering that question their way.

Evanston Township High School (outside of Chicago) will not be allowing students to have their cellphones in the classrooms. Instead, the classrooms will have specific spots away from their desks where the students can put their phones during class. At the end of the class block, the student has a 10-minute period where they can get their phone and talk to their parents or check it before they have to put it up again.

The Debate

According to Taya Kinzie, principal of Evanston Township High School, the school's summer programs are already yielding good results from the no cellphone policy. She told the news outlet:

One of our teachers even said…’I haven’t seen kids engage with each other like this for eight or nine years'

Some parents and students have brought up the concern about how to talk to their kid if there were to be an active shooter situation. School officials argue that you don't want a phone lighting up or going off in that situation and that enhanced training is available to students and faculty on how to handle an emergency situation.

Florida and Indiana have both banned cellphone use in classrooms and California is considering it, though Illinois hasn't put any such law in place.