The Unit 5 school board on Wednesday discussed results of a phone use study, following a study that began in July of phone use and discipline in schools — with potential changes to the district’s policy in mind.
So far this year, the school district has seen less disciplinary action taken regarding cell phones compared with the same time frame the previous school year. While last year "major" incidents far outnumbered "minor" incidents, this year "major" incidents have been nearly half as frequent.
Considerations given during the presentation of study results by superintendent Kristen Weikle, included: parents are the ones most frequently contacting kids during the school day; locked cell phone bags, such as the ones purchased in Peoria Public Schools, are not cost effective and are not impossible to break into; and Individualized Education Program [IEP] students given exemptions could be singled out if they use them when others cannot.
The recommended policy would not change the out-of-sight policy currently in place.
Board members characterized current policies enforced by the district as similar to the proposed requirements being considered in the Illinois House. A difference is that Unit 5 gives an extra exception for "educational purposes" — if a student’s laptop is not working, for example.
“Teacher autonomy is really important,” said Weikle. “We invest so much time, energy, passion into what we teach and who we teach.”
Any changes to the current policy based on study results would go through a policy committee before the school board would end up voting on them.
Change in state law proposed
McLean County public and private schools have a range of cell phone use policies and reasoning for them.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has asked state lawmakers to pass a ban of cell phones during class instruction across the state. It would only apply to public schools.
In McLean County, phone policies are decided by individual school districts, and sometimes are different between younger and older students. District 87, for example, has not banned cell phone use, but will see high school policies become stricter starting next school year.
Senate bill 2427 would require all school boards to adopt policies prohibiting the use of cell phones during instructional time. Policies would allow for exceptions for students with an IEP, who speak English as a second language, who are authorized to use them by teachers or a licensed physician’s recommendation, or during an emergency.
It would only set minimum requirements for school board policies, but school districts would have the ability to draft stricter policies if deemed necessary. New policies would have to be in place by the 2026-27 school year.
That bill passed the Illinois Senate and now awaits action in the House before it reaches the governor’s desk.
Other countywide policies
Olympia Superintendent Laura O’Donnell said her school district recently tightened restrictions on students to curb distractions. Phones are allowed between passing periods or at lunch, but they are to be left either in a student’s locker or in a phone pouch at the beginning of a class period. She added the policy is similar across grade levels.
“It has been a game changer,” said O’Donnell. “From the second week of school, teachers were saying kids were more engaged. There was more conversation happening.”
O’Donnell said students got acclimated to the policy “pretty quickly,” but started trying to skirt the rules a little bit a few months into the school year.
“But I feel like even if you're getting a couple referrals a week for cell phones, it's still nothing compared to the disruptions that we had previously,”
Trinity Lutheran principal Shawn Hoffman said Bloomington's school policy is to keep them out-of-sight throughout the school day, but they can be used to coordinate with parents during extra-curricular activities.
Responsible use emphasis
Heyworth and Central Catholic school leaders both say their policies focus on teaching students how to responsibly decide when phone use is appropriate.
At Heyworth, phones are not banned, but teachers are given the authority to ask students to put them away when in their classroom, or when they become a distraction.
“Cell phones are a distraction for all of us, but it's also a tool that we have all the time, so I tend to lean on just teaching kids to use it responsibly,” said superintendent Lisa Taylor.
She added discipline occurs when students do not comply, but those instances are infrequent.
The policy at Central Catholic High School in Bloomington is that students can have phones, but need to put them away when entering a classroom.
“We want to have meaningful relationships. We want our students to be formed in the best way possible. And so with that, the cell phone use, we want to teach them how to use it properly. And so students can have cell phones here, but when we enter a class, when we're engaging with people, we put those away,” said school president Sean Foster.
Mixed policies
School districts often allow separate schools to have different policies for different grade levels.
At El Paso-Gridley, phones are to be out-of-sight for elementary and middle school students, but high schoolers can have them. DeAnn Heck, superintendent, said phones currently do not lead to many disciplinary issues, but the school continues to monitor the policy.
Tri-Valley also relaxes phone policy at the high school level after an out-of-sight policy for younger levels. Phones are to be placed in a central location in the classroom for high school students. The school board looked into changing rules for the district before the beginning of the current school year, but opted to stick with current policies.
“We didn't feel like we needed to make any drastic changes for that. Although it was something that our principals had as a point of emphasis for the start of the school year with the staff and the students, I think it's gone well this year,” said superintendent Ben Derges.
