DAYTON — Ohio’s new two-year state budget, that Governor Mike DeWine signed into law this summer, will impact students in this new school year.
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It includes a ban on cell phones in public K-12 classrooms across Ohio. Now, school districts have an assignment: it’s up to them to put that ban in place.
As reported on News Center 7 Daybreak, News Center 7’s John Bedell talked to local districts and parents about what it means for students who bring their phones to class this year.
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Nasseh Henderson, of Kettering, has several grandchildren in school around the Miami Valley.
“I have a grandson who’s 14 (who’s) playing football at West Carrollton,” Henderson said. “I have a granddaughter in private school at St. Albert.”
Henderson herself is getting ready to start a new school year, teaching 6th grade at Dayton Public Schools.
News Center 7 asked Henderson what she thinks about cell phones in the classroom.
“I don’t feel that it’s important to have a phone at school that you have access to all the time,” Henderson said. “I don’t see how I can manage my classroom any better with you having a cell phone.”
Last year, Governor DeWine signed a bill into law requiring every school district in Ohio to create a policy for cell phone usage during school hours. It was aimed at restricting cell phone use in the classroom for K-12 students in the state.
Now, a new law will virtually ban it.
The language included in the state’s latest two-year budget does let students use phones for learning. It also includes an exception for kids who use their phones to monitor health conditions.
Public school districts, charter schools, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) schools must have policies in line with the new state law by January 1, 2026.
The law does not apply to private schools in Ohio.
With the new law taking effect halfway through this new school year, News Center 7 asked some of the districts in the Miami Valley that already have classroom phone bans with their own policies: how has it worked for them?
“I think it’s been positive so far,” Centerville City Schools Superintendent Jon Wesney said. “But we continue to look at that and monitor that as we move forward.”
Wesney told WHIO that Centerville City Schools “upgraded our cell phone policy” last year.
“Kids cannot have their cell phone out during instructional time,” Wesney said. “And we want to make sure that we protect that instructional time so that’s available for our staff to be able to teach and do what they need to do in the classroom.”
The Miami Valley’s largest district, Dayton Public Schools, is entering its third year of a classroom cellphone ban.
“We found extraordinary success with that,” DPS Superintendent Dr. David Lawrence said. “I do think not having cell phones and being able to talk to each other at lunch, talk to each other between class, and not being distracted is important in terms of how we educate students.”
Dayton Public Schools parent Lashay Smith said she’s in favor of the new state law.
“I have three in Dayton Public Schools,” Smith said before adding she runs a parent-imposed cell phone ban for school at her house.
“I don’t allow them to take cell phones to school,” Smith said. “I feel like that’s a big distraction.”
Harman Kaur’s son is in high school here in southwest Ohio.
“I don’t think restricting phones or any type of social media or anything can really help kids perform better,” Kaur told our news partners at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati.
Kaur thinks schools should embrace technology, not ban it.
“I know a lot of kids in classrooms take pictures of notes and all that, which helps them,” Kaur said.
News Center 7 reached out to several districts in the Miami Valley that already have phone bans in the classroom with their own policies – and asked if they’ll have to make any changes to comply with the new state law before the January 1 deadline?
Here are some of the responses we received:
Beavercreek City Schools:
“We have had policies limiting cell phones in various manners for a while, but the full implementation of the Yondr bags began with the 2024-2025 school year,” Beavercreek City Schools Director of Public Relations Beth Sizemore said. “Beavercreek City Schools has been very pleased with the outcome of our implementation. We have found our students to be more focused and engaged in the classroom, and have seen a tremendous increase in peer-to-peer interactions in hallways and lunch. We enjoy hearing the ‘buzz’ around the building as students are interacting with one another. I don’t anticipate any additional changes will be necessary to our current practices.”
Fairborn City Schools:
“(Fairborn City Schools) started using Yondr Pouches in the 2023-24 school year and continues to use them at the middle school and high school levels,” Fairborn City Schools Superintendent Amy Gayheart said. “Before the use of Yondr pouches, we had a policy that prohibited student use of phones during class times but it was difficult to enforce. We have seen dramatic improvement in many areas since the implementation of Yondr pouches including decreased tardies to class and decreased number of students skipping class, a decrease in student conflicts, and increased engagement in instruction. FCS is now in compliance with the cell phone ban.”
Kettering City Schools:
“The Kettering City Schools put a ‘no cell phone use during the school day’ rule in place, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year,” Kettering City Schools Coordinator of Community Relations and Auxiliary Services Kari Basson said. “KCS’s Student Handbook states -- ‘CELL PHONES / PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES / HEADPHONES (in accordance with HB 250) All personal devices MUST be turned off and put away during the regularly scheduled school day (Elem-8:15-2:30,MS-9:00-3:50 HS-7:45-3:05) ...Students shall not post pictures or videos on social media unless needed for a course the student is enrolled in and with teacher permission.’ We have seen a drop in some social media issues during the school day, as well as issues that can arise because of texting that was taking place between students during school. Our current Student Handbook/Code of Conduct and Board Policy 5136 have already been updated to reflect this new state requirement.”
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