Sprague High School to begin enforcing cellphone ban during class time

Sprague High School students no longer will be able to use cellphones or earbuds during class times, Principal Chad Barkes said in a newsletter sent to parents last week.

“Beginning this school year, Sprague HS will have a new cellphone policy designed to help students be more focused on their work and develop deeper connections with their peers and teachers,” Barkes wrote. “We understand this is a big change and the Sprague staff is committed to helping students develop positive new classroom habits.”

Although Barkes wrote that the policy is new at Sprague, Salem-Keizer Public Schools officials said those have been the rules for years.

District policy prohibits high school students from using phones during instructional time. It allows students to use phones during lunch and passing times.

In lower grades, students may not use phones at all during the school day, including at lunch. Those students are asked to turn their cellphones off and keep them inside their backpacks or locker, or in the school office.

In all grades, leaders at individual schools can decide whether to let students use phones for academic purposes, such as research, during class time.

District spokesman Aaron Harada was unable to say how long the cell phone policy has been in place. It was last updated in August 2022, he said.

Harada declined to say whether the district’s other middle and high schools have been enforcing the rules, and, if not, whether that would change this school year.

Sprague High School cellphone rules

District policy doesn’t set out penalties for violating the rules, but in his message to parents, Barkes said that at Sprague, staff could choose to:

• Remind the student of the expectation and ask them to put their phone away
• Confiscate the phone and turn it in to the office
• Write a referral and communicate with families

In his message, Barkes said the decision to change Sprague’s cellphone rules was made based on feedback from Sprague’s teaching staff, its student leadership/student advisory committee and other high schools.

The district does not allow its employees to speak with the news media without permission and declined to respond to the Statesman Journal’s request to interview Barkes.

Schools in Oregon, nationwide debate cellphone use

The issue of cellphones in schools is being debated in Oregon and across the country.

Florida and Indiana have banned cellphone use in public schools, and California lawmakers are considering doing so.

Alabama, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia all have passed legislation requiring or encouraging local school boards to adopt policies limiting cellphone use in schools.

And Arkansas, Delaware and Pennsylvania are providing funding for districts to purchase cellphone pouches, which can be locked and unlocked at a station outside a phone-free space.

In Oregon, Gov. Tina Kotek told Oregon Public Broadcasting she supports a state-level policy on cellphones in schools, and a bipartisan group of legislators is working on a bill for the 2025 legislative session.

Lawmakers held an informational hearing on the issue during Legislative Days in May.

“The evidence is there. It’s no longer conjecture,” Rep. Lisa Reynolds, D-Washington County, wrote to constituents earlier this month. “Cellphones and social media cause increased rates of depression, anxiety, and stress in our youth, not to mention decreased sleep, lack of focus, dissociation, and loneliness. The rise in cellphone use has contributed to our country’s academic decline.”

Some Oregon districts already are taking action.

North Clackamas School District, with about 17,000 students, spent $300,000 to purchase Yondr cellphone pouches districtwide.

In Portland Public Schools, Grant High School and Beaumont Middle School also have purchased the pouches.

Salem-Keizer School Board chairperson Cynthia Richardson declined to speak with the Statesman Journal about the board’s position or plans regarding the use of devices in schools.

She referred questions to Harada, who declined to comment on board matters.

Harada said district officials are considering purchasing lockable cellphone pouches for student use. He declined to say whether the pouches would be piloted in any schools this year.

“We are exploring the use of cell pouches in some settings, but at this point we are not planning for a districtwide implementation of these tools,” Harada said.

Tracy Loew covers education at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips: tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on X at @Tracy_Loew

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Sprague High School to begin enforcing cellphone ban during class time