Tougher regulation of student cell phones a necessity

I got my first phone when I was in sixth grade. To some, that may seem young, but to others, it may seem too old. I had friends who had phones by fifth grade, but most of my friends had phones by the time middle school started.

I have often asked my parents what prompted them to give me a phone at an early age. Their response was straightforward: “If anything happens, we want you to be able to call us immediately.”

Even though I had a phone, I was never allowed to use Instagram or Snapchat, which was the craze then. My phone only had two things that I needed: messages and the ability to make calls.

Other than that, I saw no purpose in it. As time went on, however, and I started to download social media, I became distracted while in class. The cell phone is now considered the most significant enemy for some educators.

Whenever you get a notification, what is the first thing you do? Most would probably say check it. For educators, students using their cell phones takes away from lesson plans and crucial education time.

It became so distracting in middle school that it was mandated to leave phones in lockers to prevent distractions during class. By high school, Burke County Public Schools implemented a strict policy.

The policy prohibited the use of cell phones during instructional time unless students were given explicit permission to use the telephone for educational purposes by educators and were supervised.

It did not mean cell phones were banned during lunchtime or on campus grounds, like some other school districts across the country. If students were caught using their cell phones, they would be confiscated, and parents would be notified.

I spoke with Henry Beall, a student at Freedom High School, about the effectiveness of this policy. “It basically works as well as the teacher or administrator wants it to. I can only really speak for Freedom, but teachers who have a no-tolerance policy and rely on respect to enforce it obviously do well, while teachers who don’t care or aren’t respected are pretty much ignored,” he said.

Currently, in the N.C. General Assembly, Senate Bill 55, titled “Student Use of Wireless Communication Devices,” seeks to limit the use of cell phones in schools.

The bill was introduced by three Republicans who are named as the primary sponsors of the bill. It is, however, co-sponsored by 13 other senators who are both Democrats and Republicans.

The bill seems to be gaining bipartisan support. Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Democrat from Wake County, said this on his X account about Senate Bill 55: “This isn’t a rural or urban issue. It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s about getting our kids to focus on learning and away from social media. It’s time we join more than a dozen other states. I also hope we do it quickly so school districts have time to work with teachers and administrators, so these policies are in place before the start of the new school year this August.”

Many states have enacted similar policies to create a “phone-free education.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3216, which “requires every school district, charter school, and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026,” according to his office.

The statistics also back up the need for these bills. In a 2024 study by the Pew Research Center, high school teachers reported that “about seven-in-ten (72%) say that students being distracted by cellphones is a major problem in their classroom.”

In my experiences at Freedom and NCSSM, teachers tend to struggle to control their students using their phones while in the classroom. So what does this bill mean for public schools in North Carolina?

What the bill seeks to do is mandate each “governing body of a public school unit” in North Carolina to submit a policy to limit “wireless communication devices,” which are defined as: “Any portable wireless device that has the capability to provide voice, messaging, or other data communication between two or more parties, including the following:

a. Cellular telephones.

b. Tablet computers.

c. Laptop computers.

d. Paging devices.

e. Two-way radios.

If the bill were to pass in the coming months, each district must submit its policy to the Department of Public Instruction by September for the 2025-26 school year. Many state lawmakers have come out in full support of this bill.

This bill could prove beneficial to districts that do not have a policy and could even strengthen already existing policies such as those of BCPS. It would require not only cell phones but also other devices to be monitored and regulated in schools.

This would ensure that students are getting the quality education that they deserve. The Literacy Project reports that “the average American reads at a 7th to 8th-grade level.”

If we want to ensure that students are learning effectively and efficiently, then we have to create an environment where students are free from distractions such as cell phones.

Increasing literacy rates, increasing educational time, and minimizing distractions are in the best interest of all students in North Carolina.

I will be monitoring this bill closely and urge fellow students, teachers, community members, etc., to support this bill for my generation and those to come.