Bell-to-bell cellphone ban recommended by Denver Public Schools committee

DENVER — Denver Public Schools could adopt a bell-to-bell cellphone ban if it follows the recommendation of a community committee.

DPS formed the 17-member committee in response to a new state law that requires all Colorado school districts to adopt a policy on student cellphone use by July 1. The law doesn’t require a ban; rather, it allows each district to come up with its own rules.

Cellphone bans are increasingly common nationwide as schools try to reduce distractions in class and improve students’ mental health. Some educators are expanding technology prohibitions even further by dropping laptops from their classrooms, too.

While other Colorado districts already have policies in place, Denver, the state’s largest district with more than 89,000 students, does not. The committee of parents, educators, and community members was tasked by the district with coming up with recommendations, which the Denver school board heard for the first time Wednesday night.

A majority of the committee members recommended that the DPS cellphone policy include:

• A ban on smart phones, smart watches, earbuds, and other technology not issued by schools from the start to the end of the school day for all students.
• A rule that phones must be inaccessible during school.
• Exceptions for students who need their phones for medical reasons or as part of a special education plan or disability accommodation.
• Training for parents on the district’s emergency notification process.
• Revised student discipline rules that include consequences for violating the ban.
• That if educators don’t implement the policy consistently, “there is an intersectionality with their evaluations.” The recommendations don’t say how their evaluations could be affected.
• The last point is in response to teachers who said bans are hard to enforce if the teacher next door is more lax, said Sarah Almy Moore, a parent and former DPS employee who was on the committee. That inconsistency is partly what inspired the idea of a bell-to-bell ban, she said.

“The policy of putting the phones away just for in-class doesn’t seem to be working effectively, even though the students themselves might like it,” Almy Moore said.

Abraham Lincoln High School principal Néstor Bravo was also on the committee. He said he supports a blanket ban because allowing students to have their phones at lunch or during bathroom breaks can become an opportunity for them to get “a quick hit of Instagram.”

“As we try to address the problem of cell phones as an addiction that compromises social interaction, we were thinking of a K-12 policy that is standard but it also prepares our children for when they become teenagers,” Bravo said.

School board members Marlene De La Rosa and Kimberlee Sia will take the lead on crafting a proposed policy based on the recommendations. The current timeline calls for them to introduce the policy next week, and for the board to take a final vote on June 11.

The district plans to survey families about the proposed policy in May. The board will also hear public comment about the proposal at its May and June meetings.

One teacher and three parents spoke at Wednesday’s public comment session. Two were in favor of a proposed ban and two were opposed.

Katie Sams, a teacher at one of the district’s alternative high schools, said her students are often older and dealing with complicated factors in their lives. They may need phones to communicate with employers, child care providers, or even parole officers, she said.

But parent Jamie Chesser said she wants her children, ages 12 and 14, to build strong friendships with classmates and relationships with teachers at school, not be isolated on a screen.

“We need to remove cell phones from schools for the sake of our children’s futures,” she said. “This is not punishment. It is for their good health. This is about love for the kids.”