Experts hope the phone ban in schools improves students' mental health

KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas. Share your story idea with Olivia .

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Many students in Kansas have returned to school with new bans on cell phones . These changes came after districts heard from students, families, and teachers about how disruptive they can be during class.

“We recognize that cell phones and electronic devices are a normal part of our everyday life today. Part of education is educating students on how to use those appropriately. At the same time, as an educational institution, our number one priority is making sure that our students are learning when they're in our classrooms and when we have them with us,” said Becky Grubaugh with Olathe Public Schools.

In Olathe, students in eighth grade and younger are not allowed to use devices during the school day. High schoolers can use them outside of class, like lunch and passing period, but can only use them in class if the teacher allows it. Students can always use them in an emergency or if they need them for their health.

Christian Shirey is a student who told KSHB 41 they understand why the rule needs to be in place.

"I get why people want to be on their phones so much,” said Shirey. "I feel like it’s fair because they don’t want people on it.”

Other districts in Johnson County with new phone policies are the Shawnee Mission School District and the Gardner Edgerton Unified School District. These districts are joining many others throughout the country in this movement.

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that by 2020, 77% of schools had banned cell phones . A big reason cited for this is mental health and the impact phones are having on kids.

Tim DeWeese is the director of Johnson County Mental Health, where they’re constantly working to understand the relationship between cell phones and mental health. He says the distractions they pose for students go deeper than interrupting their teacher’s lesson.

“What we're trying to do, is help prepare kids both emotionally, socially and academically, for the future. And yeah, technology is going to be a part of that, but they're also going to have to be able to have relationships with people. They're also going to have to be able to keep their attention on a certain subject at any given time,” said DeWeese.

DeWeese says that although phones are meant to keep us connected and keep our attention, they're keeping students' attention in the wrong place.

This was a concern we heard from parents throughout the week as well - that cell phones take a mental toll on students.

Other parents had concerns about safety, but DeWeese called phones a "safety net that isn’t there." He said these policies will force parents to think more about why they’re contacting their students during the school day and to trust educators and school staff to handle safety concerns.

“We have these devices that are supposed to keep us connected, that are supposed to improve our lives, and they do in so many ways. But what we're learning is that there are also these unintended consequences. And, you know, distracting ourselves,” said DeWeese.

DeWeese has high hopes for the new policies.

“My guess is that we will begin to see kids that that are able to be able to hold a conversation, that'll be able to hold their attention in the classroom for a more extended period of time, they may do better in school. And I think it'll also get us to the point that we can begin to communicate and have interactions with other human beings, not through a device, but person to person. And I think that is huge,” said DeWeese.

The National Educators Association says phone bans are to improve things like cyberbullying, attendance, and students' mental health. That echoes what DeWeese said about creating a healthy learning environment when it comes to the academic material students have in front of them but that also helps students social and emotional learning.

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