Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat.
Metro-east school districts have been wrestling with student cellphone use for over a decade. Recently proposed legislation is taking the conversation statewide. '
The bill, which Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker lauded during last month’s State of the State speech, would ban cellphone use during instructional time. It’s not an entire ban, though; there are exceptions, such as when teachers give permission to use them, emergencies, and when a physician says a student needs the device for medical reasons.
If signed into law, the bill would not only ban cellphones under such parameters, but also other “wireless communication devices,” such as smart watches and gaming devices.
In addition to crafting policy that includes the ban, school districts would also need to include guidelines for safe and accessible storage of such devices during instructional time.
Many metro-east school districts have long had cellphone policies in place, although they may vary from district to district and between grade levels, and be altered with time. These policies may not only address having a cellphone at school, but also cyber bullying, “sexting,” and other actions subject to discipline.
Cellphone use also has been brought up in local spring election campaigns. Joseph T. Giglotto, a write-in candidate for Harmony-Emge School District 175, said cellphones and electronics are a detriment to students’ mental health. Lori Billy, a candidate for Collinsville Community School District 10’s board and retired teacher, said phones distract from learning and that their use should be restricted during instruction time.
What’s the cellphone policy in Metro East school districts?
It largely depends on their grade level and the circumstance.
Belleville Township High School District 201: This year’s student handbook states students should have their phones “off and out of sight” from the time they come on campus until the end of the school day. But, Superintendent Brian Mentzer explained, teachers have the autonomy to decide if and when students may use their cellphones.
Belleville School District 118: West Junior High School, Central Junior High School and the district’s elementary schools pretty much all have the same policy. Students are to have their cellphones turned off and out of sight from when they get to school or board the bus until they leave school. During the day, phones are to be in their backpacks in their locker. For schools that don’t have lockers, Superintendent Ryan Boike said, they are to be in the backpacks wherever they are stored. Bluetooth headphones and smart watches are also to be stored this way, district policy states.
Belle Valley School District 119: The preK through 8th grade district does not allow cellphones and other electronic devices in schools or on school buses. This year’s student/parent handbook also details discipline for having or using phones, with discipline varying based on the severity of the offense. Discipline may include: the phone being confiscated and given back at the end of the day, detention with a parent required to retrieve the confiscated phone, in-school suspension or even expulsion.
Central School District 104 in O’Fallon: Superintendent Gabrielle Rodriguez said the elementary and middle school district’s cellphone rules can be summarized with a quip — “away for the day.” At the elementary level, students keep their phones in their lockers. At the middle school, students put their phones in a Yondr pouch, a thick cloth pouch that locks and requires a magnet to open. The phones, in Yondr pouches, are kept in students’ advisory (homeroom) teachers’ classrooms until the end of the day when an adult unlocks the pouch.
Collinsville Unit 10 School District: As outlined in the district’s Student and Parent Handbook, cellphone policies vary based on students’ ages.
High schoolers can use their cellphones, personal laptops and other electronic communication devices before school starts, during lunch in the cafeteria, after school in areas with adult supervision and in select circumstances during instructional time. They may use their devices during instructional time if a teacher gives them permission for educational purposes, an Individualized Education Plan (or an IEP) permits it or during an emergency.
The only electronic devices that middle schoolers can have is their school-issued Chromebook. Any other device must be put away and turned off.
At Doris Intermediate and the elementary schools, electronic devices are to be off and out of sight unless they have permission from school staff, an IEP that requires its use or during an emergency.
At all grade levels, discipline is on a case-by-case basis and can include notifying parents, temporary removal from class, suspension or expulsion. In particularly severe offenses, legal authorities may be notified.
East St. Louis School District 189: The district operates cellphone-free during instruction time, Executive Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships Sydney Stigge-Kaufman said. To help enforce this, its middle schoolers and high schoolers started using Yondr pouches in January.
Students’ phones are placed in a Yondr pouch at the beginning of the day and unlocked at the end. For the most part, students carry their Yondr pouches with their phones inside with them, Stigge-Kaufman said. In the event of an emergency, adults can unlock the pouches, she said.
All elementary, middle school and high school classrooms have Chromebooks that can be used for educational purposes, Stigge-Kaufman said. She added that students who need to access their phones at some points due to an IEP or medical concern have modified medical pouches.
O’Fallon Community Consolidated School District 90: Superintendent Carrie Hruby said at the elementary level, students are not allowed to bring cellphones to school. Junior high school students, however, may bring cellphones to school, but they must remain in their lockers, she said.
O’Fallon Township High School District 203: According to the O’Fallon Township High School 2024-25 Student Handbook, students may use their cellphones, headphones and other electronic devices before school, during passing periods and during lunch.
They may not use electronic devices in the classroom, and these devices must be turned off and put away, unless they receive permission from their teacher. When that’s the case, they must use their devices appropriately and in a non-distracting manner.
Like many other districts, District 203’s handbook outlines disciplinary procedures for violations of the cellphone rules.
Wolf Branch School District 113 in Swansea: Both the elementary and middle school operate under an “away-for-the-day” policy. Superintendent Nicole Sanderson said cellphones are a greater concern at the middle school level, and that, if they need an electronic device for educational purposes in the classroom, students can use their Chromebooks.
What do you think?
Last week at a news conference in Champaign, Pritzker once again promoted the bill partially banning cellphones in schools. “In conversations with educators from around the state, there is one thing most commonly cited as an impediment to classroom learning: cellphones,” he said.
Many local districts’ cellphone policies reference this prevailing narrative. But, at the same time, technology such as cellphones can also be seen as an educational and safety tool.
We want your thoughts. Please fill out our online survey, available at https://bit.ly/BNDcellphonesurvey.
Madison Lammert is a reporter with the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
