The Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) board voted Tuesday to ban students using their cell phones during school hours.
The ban by the country’s second largest district supplants a previous directive issued by the board in 2011 that banned student cell phone usage only during class instruction and allowed social media access for educational purposes.
The school board in their press release noted that studies showed that cell phone usage and social media degraded learning and mental health among the student body. (RELATED: Los Angeles High School To Host Drag Queen ‘World Series’)
The vote was 5-2, according to CNN.
The shadow of a pedestrian is seen walking past the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District on October 3, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
The ban will take effect in January 2025.
“Kids no longer have the opportunity to just be kids,” LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin said, the press release read. “I’m hoping this resolution will help students not only focus in class, but also give them a chance to interact and engage more with each other—and just be kids,” he added.
Melvoin, who voted for the ban, maintained that there were legitimate concerns about the full application of the ban and that in emergency circumstances students ought to be able to communicate with their parents, CNN reported. Board member Rocio Rivas concurred with her colleague on the matter, the outlet reported. An exception to the ban would be for non-native English students who need their smartphones to get adequate translations, CNN reported.
Exact implementation of the ban may vary from school to school. “But the idea is very simple: If you bring your phone to school at all, you park it at the beginning,” LAUSD School Board President Jackie Goldberg said, CNN reported. “You’ll put it in a locker or a pouch … and you’ll pick it up on your way home,” Goldberg added.
