“They’re Going to Get a Lot of Backlash” – Families, Teachers React to LA Unified’s Looming Cell Phone Ban

Los Angeles Unified teachers,  parents and students expressed support for the district’s upcoming cell phone ban — but with some concerns about the details.

The new policy, set to roll out in January, is being created in response to a school board resolution .

Studies show the unregulated use of phones on campus can harm students’ academic progress and cause harm to kids’ mental health.

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LA families and local educators are buzzing about the looming new policy , but no one is sure how it will work.

“The first thing I thought was, how are they going to enforce that?” said Cara Becerril, a mother of a junior at Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies . “They’re going to get a lot of backlash from students and parents…I’m for it.”

LAUSD officials said they hope the cellphone ban will reduce attention problems, cyberbullying and anxiety caused by cellphone use. Parents think that’s a good idea.

“I’m old school, and I grew up without a phone,” Becerril said. “Humans right now can’t get off their phone, so I mean, we’ve got to start somewhere.”

Teachers told LA School Report conflicts over cellphone use can strain their relationships with students. They said they do not want sole responsibility for enforcing a ban, and they’re not sure how the devices should be managed on campus.

“I really don’t want to be the cellphone police,” said Susan Norton, an English teacher at Verdugo Hills High School . “It’s just not a good position for teachers to be in when we’re dealing with people’s property.”

Teachers also said students seem “addicted” to their phones.

Rebecca Holt, a sixth grade teacher in Bel Air, has noticed students hiding their cellphones behind their books or taking bathroom breaks just to use their phone. Once LAUSD implements the cellphone ban in 2025, she hopes teachers won’t have to be the cellphone police anymore.

Three Los Angeles school teachers shared their students’ encounters with cyberbullying. According to Holt, two students threatened to get another student killed, saying they “deserved to die.”

While technology and social media have some negative effects on youth mental health, adolescents have reported many positive aspects. In Holt’s math classroom, students enjoy seeing where their peers go on vacation through social media.

“It helps them see other cultures and learn about the world because they’ll see their friend who went to visit Iceland, and they’ll get to see what Iceland is like,” Holt said.

Holt also said her students sometimes watch funny videos after a long day of school as a way to decompress. But she also said that social media could have an isolating effect on kids.

One of Holt’s middle school students, she said, decided to stop using social media entirely, and said that they felt more present in class, had stronger relationships, and enjoyed the little things in life more after quitting social media.

Although teachers and parents voiced concerns about teens’ mental health, teens expressed confidence in how they are handling challenges that come with using devices and social media.

Some said they feel more connected than ever through their cell phones, while other teens, like Holt’s student who quit social media, have opted out of online communities.

Their parents were less sanguine.

“Children are totally addicted to their phones,” said Annise Fuller, mother of a senior at Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets. “I think that the phones have taken away a lot of the children’s attention in the classroom.”

But not all students are convinced. Although some kids told LA School Report phones can cause problems on campus, others, such as Dallas Robinson, Fuller’s daughter, said the devices are too important to bar from school.

“Don’t ban them,” said Robinson. “But make students put them in their backpacks.”