Oregon agency shares guidance for school cell phone policies

The Oregon Department of Education released guidance Wednesday for school districts wrestling with how to handle student cell phones.

"Fostering Student Learning, Well-Being, and Belonging" provides background research, recommendations and three model policies based on how restrictive the district wants to be. The document also shares the approaches of districts that have already enacted policies and gives cost estimates for various approaches.

OSBA Legislative Services Specialist Adrienne Anderson was deeply involved with the document's development. She shared district viewpoints and OSBA's own sample policies with ODE while providing feedback on ODE's drafts.

"The presence of cell phones is disrupting classrooms and creating social problems in school, but they have also become an integral part of students' lives, learning and connection to home," Anderson said. "ODE has done a great job of putting in the time to give considered guidance while recognizing that each district needs to craft a policy fitted to their community's needs and goals."

Oregon law requires districts to have policies for personal electronic devices. OSBA and its members support keeping that a local decision because school situations can vary greatly depending on student populations, family views and geographic locations.

The document directs districts to consider local issues such as student and staff views, liability and enforcement that doesn't affect instruction time.

Oregon schools have already created policies that range from prohibiting cell phones to be out in classrooms to physically locking them away from students in pouches they can carry.