During the William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board’s regular meeting Wednesday night, the trustees heard a report from Canyon High School on the performance of a more restrictive cell phone policy on campus.

At the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, Canyon administrators decided to enact a more restrictive cell phone use policy on campus. Instead of the usual policy, which restricts the use of cellphones in class except for academic purposes, staff instead decided to use “a more structured approach,” according to Assistant Principal David Miles.

Following a policy of “off and away,” student cell phones must be powered down at the start of class and stored somewhere besides a student’s pocket, preferably in a phone sleeve or other classroom storage system during class time, according to Miles.

The policy requires that phones be left in the classroom when students are excused from class to use the restroom, restricts recording on campus,  and does not allow cell phones in the library, counseling office or in the administrative offices. However, students are allowed to use their phones during brunch and lunch and before and after school hours.

In addition, provisions have been made for students who have cell phone use specifically allowed in a 504, IEP or a medical plan.

Since the policy was implemented, 11 percent of students have received violations, and only 4 percent have received multiple violations, according to Miles. Surveys revealed that 97 percent of staff and 81 percent of parents support classroom restrictions, while 64 percent of parents and 97 percent of students oppose full-day bans.

While some administrators have toyed with the idea of requesting students leave their phones at home during the school day, students themselves have pointed out that such a wide-ranging policy is rather unreasonable considering the personal circumstances or curriculum requirements of the student.

“When talking about the cell phone policy with other students, especially at Valencia, everyone’s a little bit iffy about it, but I think that the way that you guys are doing it at Canyon is efficient and it’s reasonable,” said Student Board Member Maya Yiadom, a senior at Valencia. “But also, being able to have (your cellphone) on campus is important because I know that all of my teachers have online submissions for everything, and in passing periods sometimes you need to turn something in last minute, or you need to go take a picture of your assignment in the library. I think that it’s important to have a balance between it.”

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