Jefferson City students get ready to return to the classroom without their phones
Alison Patton
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
When students return to school throughout Missouri, they might notice one change: no phones allowed.
A new state law requires all school districts to establish a no-phones policy, even if the district previously had one, like Jefferson City School District.
“We had a policy where kids didn’t have them in classrooms. So now it’s in the hallways and also in the cafeteria,” Superintendent Bryan McGraw said.
Last school year, students could have phones out during class transitions and at lunch. Come Monday, when school starts, phones aren’t allowed unless students are using them for educational purposes.
Adalyn Long, a sophomore at Capital High School, said it’s going to take some students more time to adjust to the new policy.
“I don’t really use my phone too much,” she said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a big problem. But for other people, I think it’ll be hard for the first few days.”
Long is on the dance team, and she does other activities outside of school. She also has two brothers, who have their own schedules as well.
She said last year she would text her parents and brothers during school, so she knows what the plan is. Now, all of that could be changing.
If a student is caught using their phone, McGraw said, the consequence depends on where and how the phone was being used. It also depends on how often the student is caught using their phone.
“It varies from a warning to confiscating it for a period of time,” McGraw said.
Capital City High School special education teacher Cameron Grant said he’s expecting some pushback from students.
“But once the students get acclimated to it all, as long as the teachers are staying on top of it, I think it won’t be that big of a problem,” Grant said.
He thinks this will keep students engaged in the classroom.
“I’m hoping and believing that they’ll be more attentive to what their teachers are talking about. More willing to take notes, which means test scores go up,” Grant said.