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A new Indiana law restricts students from the use of cellphones and other wireless communication devices while in class.
Legislation passed at the Indiana statehouse last session means some students across the state return to school with restrictions on the use of cellphones and other wireless communication devices (WCD) for the first time.
But Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. students have a several-year head-start in some respects.
Senate Enrolled Act 185, passed in January, required school districts to have specific guidelines regarding the use of WCDs in school. WCDs include cellphones, earbuds, tablets, laptops, gaming devices and wearable technology.
But at BCSC’s middle schools, they’ve had policies restricting WCDs for quite some time. The same is true for the high schools, although they were a bit later to the party than the middle schools, BCSC officials said.
Draft policy A301, BCSC’s WCD policy, outlines what is allowed WCD-wise at the elementary, middle and high schools. The policy is yet to be officially approved — the first and second readings of it are slated for the school board meetings on Aug. 19 and Sept. 8.
It states that WCDs are not allowed during instructional hours at all levels generally, unless a student’s teacher gives them prior approval. High school students are to have their devices silenced and put away, unless given permission to use them for an educational purpose. They are, however, able to use WCDs in resource areas, hallways and the cafeteria.
Middle school students, on the other hand, have to have their cell phones powered off and put in their locker for the entire school day. The same is true for elementary students, except they need to be put away in backpacks or somewhere else unseen.
It’s important to note as well that still, under some circumstances, students would receive permission to keep their WCDs on during school if there is some sort of emergency or if a student needs a device to manage their healthcare.
Northside and Central Middle School principals Evan Burton and Jay Payne said they had restricted use of WCDs at their schools, specifically cellphones, for as long as they can remember.
“It was always not to be seen or heard, but that was kind of just it. You could have it in your pocket — we just didn’t want to really see it or hear it,” Payne said.
Burton said the legislation hadn’t had much impact on their policy at Northside, but more so reinforced it.
“All this has done is allowed us to kind of reference something else, other than just our school policy, where phones are to often be in their locker during the school day.”
One tangible change between WCD policy at Central this year is that students now must keep their cellphones in their locker, which students have done well adapting to, Payne said.
“I actually think some of the kids are really kind of happy about it, because they don’t have the stress of having their phone on them and having to worry about it,” Payne said.
School officials made certain that parents were aware of the changes coming into this year with several parent square messages sent regarding the policy over the summer.
But that doesn’t mean students won’t try to circumvent the rules — something staff is prepared for, already identifying commonly attempted work-arounds.
“I’m sure they’re going to test the boundaries of it, but we expect that and we kind of talked about that in our staff meeting about how there are probably things they’re going to try to do. Like, ‘Hey, I need to go to the bathroom,’ but they’re going to their locker to get their cell phone and go to the bathroom,” Payne said. “We just want to be proactive in talking to kids — ‘That’s not acceptable, that is not how we’re doing this,’ But, knock on wood, it has actually been a really good start.”
“They do a pretty good job of following the expectations for us, and that certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t cases where we have to have further conversations,” Burton said. “But those generally are very easy to have and are taken care of quickly.”
In terms of using phones for instructional purposes, Payne, Burton and Columbus East High School Principal Michael Parsons said whatever they would be used for can often also be done using the Chromebooks that are provided to students.
Parsons said East began implementing restrictions on WCDs in October of 2023.
“We had a really good plan in place last year that followed our current school policy on wireless communication devices, and felt like we just made sure it was enforced in the classrooms and halls at East, and for the most part, students have responded exceptionally well.”
The policy for the high school students can be a bit of a balancing act — knowing that cell phones are and will be an unescapable part of their future lives, but also that there are times when they won’t be able to use them.
“It’s really trying to parallel to what their future endeavors are, and showing them a future that will certainly be inundated with technology and cellphones, but they will need to also be apart from them at certain times,” Parsons said. “We want to be flexible with our students, and what I have found is, when we’re honoring or treating them with respect, when we’re treating them like young adults, they typically respond well.”
Parents of students in middle and high school have been supportive of the restrictions, the principals all said.
“I have had many parents reach out to me and just share their gratitude that we have taken this step with cell phones,” Parsons said. “… I think we all see the need for communication face-to-face, to be able to create eye contact, be able to do things without a device in our hand, while at the same time, it is an incredible tool for us to use at all levels. But I think our parents realize that we want to put forth learning opportunities free of distractions, and it seemed to be received very well from our parents and the East community.”
“Most of the one’s I’ve talked to have been supportive of it and are happy that we’re doing it,” Payne said. “… You’ve got to have three people involved — the staff, the students and the parents, all on the same page. I feel like we are there right now, so that’s a big positive.”
