Fewer Columbia Public Schools students cited for having cellphones this school year
Erika McGuire
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Public School District has issued 2,628 cellphone policy referrals so far this school year, according to the district.
The district says that number reflects incidents and not individual students, as one student can receive multiple referrals.
This marks a decrease from 3,185 in the 2024-2025 school year. In the 2023-2024 school year, the district reported 1,190 referrals, according to CPS spokesperson Michelle Baumstark.
Baumstark noted the increases in the 2024-25 school year was due to stricter enforcement of the school’s existing policy before it became state law. She added about 75% of referrals are for multiple warnings to put the device away without compliance. The remaining involves incidents of misuse, including recording, headphone use and social media.
The district implemented a “cellphone free policy” at the start of the 2025-2026 school year after Gov. Mike Kehoe signed Senate Bill 68 banning the use of cellphones during instructional time, lunch breaks, study halls and between passing periods for all students. Under the law, during school hours, cellphones must be turned off, or on silent mode and stored in student’s backpack or locker.
Before Kehoe signed the law into place, CPS already enforced a similar policy for middle school students that prohibited phone use throughout the day, including in hallways, bathrooms and lunch.
“We have more than 18,000 students in CPS. So, referrals for cell phone related offenses represents a small percentage of the total student population. Most of our students are making good choices and have done well with the increased enforcement over the last few years.” Baumstark said.