San Luis Coastal Unified School District addresses cellphone use on campus

Governor Gavin Newsom is calling on California school districts to restrict the use of cell phones in the classroom. I looked into some changes the San Luis Coastal Unified School District is making that will impact students district wide.

“From a teaching standpoint it’s really difficult to manage when you have students who are not engaged,” said Daniel Monroe, SLO High School teacher and girls basketball coach.

Monroe said cell phones can be a distraction and he’s not the only one who feels that way.

According to the governor’s office, a recent Pew Research Center survey found 72% of high school and 33% of middle school teachers report cell phone distractions as a major problem.

For San Luis Coastal Unified’s three high schools, cell phones must be put away during classess.

“When students walk through the door of any classroom on campus, they put their phone in a designated phone pocket holder that is numbered. The rule is they drop it in when they walk in and pick it up when they walk out,” Monroe said.

A Common Sense Media survey found 97% of students use their phones during the school day for around 43 minutes.

For teacher Lynnly Sainsbury, she’s glad there are restrictions already in place.

“It takes away from us being the disciplinary phone police,” said Lynnly Sainsbury, SLO High School teacher.

District Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Lisa Yamashita said they are creating a task force with parents, teachers, and community members to revisit the current technology policies for San Luis Coastal.

“I think the fact that we are trying to be ahead of the curve and stay focused on the social emotional health of our teenagers is really important to us and we’re saying that by having this committee and addressing cellphones,” Sainsbury said.

Yamashita said the school district is hoping to kick off the task force sometime next month.