SAND SPRINGS, Okla — Clyde Boyd Middle School and Sixth Grade Center announced a new cell phone policy where students cannot use phones during school hours.
Students can only text during passing periods, but no calls, pictures, videos, or music. School officials say they want to increase student learning, and decrease cyberbullying.
Some parents commented on their Facebook post announcement saying they're worried in the wake of recent mass shootings, how they'll hear from their child in case of an emergency.
"There should be enough adults with cell phones that news can be communicated, and sometimes it can be faster and more accurate if it’s coming from a district," said Betty Collins, U.S. History teacher at Union Eighth Grade Center.
The new policy prevents distractions in the classroom to enhance student engagement.
"They certainly don’t need to be messaging anybody that’s in a different class because then they’re just disrupting the learning of other students, not just themselves," said Collins.
Many comments support the school's decision, saying other schools should follow.
"Eventually they are going to be adults in the work place and they are going to need when the appropriate time to use a cell phone is," said Collins.
According to the school's post, every student will have an assigned locker and responsible for bringing their own combination lock. If the student doesn't have a lock on their locker and brings their phone to school, they will be required to leave it in the office during the day.
The new policy will be enforced on the first day of school, August 20.
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