Skip to main content
The Portland Public Schools Board on Tuesday night agreed to enforce a new cellphone policy that will require students across grade levels to keep their personal electronic devices “off and away” throughout the school day.
The board voted 5-2 in favor of the policy, which worked its way through committee this fall and winter. Board members said the policy originated as a response to try and improve student achievement and address teacher concerns that they couldn’t keep students on track in class. “We must create the conditions that allow students to be engaged, focused and challenged so they can reach their full potential,” the resolution reads.
The timeline for implementation is not immediately clear.
“The data is clear on distraction,” said School Board member Michelle DePass. “I want to give it a try because I think it will increase outcome and social engagement. As a responsible adult, I feel compelled to vote yes for this.”
School Board members Herman Greene and Gary Hollands voted no. Greene did not comment on the policy, but Hollands said he did not want to overlook the power of student voices.
The plan notably offers no specific method for enforcement, leaving that and additional restrictions up to the discretion of building administrators. Grant and Cleveland high schools and Beaumont Middle School all have cellphone-free policies that mandate phones remain in locked Yondr pouches throughout the school day, a decision that has been controversial (“Their Own Devices,” WW, Oct. 2).
But applying that option districtwide is costly, especially because the phone policy requires that if PPS provides funds for implementation, that funding must be distributed equitably across schools. At $30 a unit, a staff memo from mid-November indicated it would cost $725,700 to buy enough pouches for every middle and high schooler in the district.
Board member Julia Brim-Edwards, who chairs the policy committee, said she wanted to caution the district on how the policy is implemented. She said she would caution against requiring Yondr pouches districtwide, citing the company’s “monopoly” as well as her concerns that students wouldn’t have access to their phones off campus. “I would hope that’s a whole separate conversation,” she said. She also noted she disagreed with not allowing high schoolers access to their phones during lunch.
The decision was not welcomed by many students, who have been vocally opposed to all-day restrictions. Student board representative JJ Kunsevi, a senior at McDaniel High School, said the student voice has been “consistent and persistent” against such a strict policy. He said a student survey from October collected more than 2,000 responses, the majority of which were in agreement.
Clara, a student at McDaniel High School who testified before the board, said the policy currently is worded in a way that encourages students to oppose the policy “rather than understand its value.”
“I believe that choosing a policy that restricts phones rather than teaching students how to navigate the world we live in with phones will be more harmful than helpful,” she said.
Some students also advocated for keeping phones on them for safety. Ian Ritorto, a district student council representative at Roosevelt High School, said kids deserve the right to their phones in the event of a school shooting. “I’d like to tell my family I love them before I get shot,” Ritorto said.
Board members in favor of the policy cited data from law enforcement that shows having phones can pose complications during school shootings.
Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong said she supports removing distractions in the classroom during the day and protecting the learning environment of teachers. But she added she doesn’t understand how lunch is an academic environment.
“It’s a tough one for me,” Armstrong said. “When we ask for input and feedback from our students we should listen. I don’t support the off-and-away during lunch. I do believe that students should have access to the devices as long as we are an open campus school district for lunch.”
Board member Andrew Scott said he thinks the board is taking itself a bit too seriously. He says the policy could always be subject to change by future board members and revised by administrators, including the superintendent, during implementation. He disputed the idea that the board was not taking student input into account.
“The reality is we’ve all listened to the students. There’s a very big difference between listening to what the students have said and agreeing with what the students have said,” Scott said.