A growing body of research and teacher surveys shows student cell phone use in schools is hindering more than helping the school experience.
In response, the Oregon Department of Education issued guidance this week for districts on limiting or ending cell phone use in schools. State law requires every school district to have policies around cell phones and personal electronic devices, but each of the 197 districts in Oregon gets to set its own rules.
The education department recommended that districts develop policies in collaboration with staff, students and parents; address early on any concerns about theft, loss or damage to devices that are kept in a designated place away from students and refrain from suspending or expelling students for breaking the phone policy. The department also urged schools to teach students about media literacy, digital citizenship and responsible use of technology.
This advice is late, banal, and works mostly as an attempt to distract from the abject failure to guide school districts in cell phone policies until now. In other words, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the Oregon Department of Education.