Ed-Tech Policy Video

Cellphone Policies in Schools, Explained

By Lauraine Langreo & Kaylee Domzalski — May 21, 2024 2:04
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Schools and districts are using a wide range of approaches to tackle challenges brought on by students’ cellphones.

Here, Education Week reporter Lauraine Langreo explains the different ways schools are addressing cellphone use, and the factors educators must weigh before adopting or changing the rules.

A cell phone sits on a student's desk during a 9th grade honors English class at Bel Air High School in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024.
A cellphone sits on a student's desk during a 9th grade honors English class at Bel Air High School in Bel Air, Md., on Jan. 25, 2024. The policies that districts and schools use to manage the use of cellphones during the school day vary widely.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy 6 Ways Schools Are Managing Students’ Cellphone Use
Lauraine Langreo, April 25, 2024
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Lauraine Langreo is an Education Week staff writer, covering education technology and learning environments.
Kaylee Domzalski is a video producer for Education Week, telling meaningful stories that impact the field.

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Frank DeAngelis, center, greets well-wishers during a vigil at the memorial for victims of the massacre at Columbine High School more than 20 years earlier in Littleton, Colo. on Friday, April 19, 2019. DeAngelis was principal of the school at the time of the attack. The school district is considering razing the current building and putting up a new structure.
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