Northern Colorado school district to ban cell phones in classrooms

CBS News

a day ago

Starting next year, all school districts in Colorado are required to have a policy in place limiting the use of cell phones in classrooms. But some schools will have those new policies in place this year.
The Weld RE-4 School District in Weld County will not allow students to use their cell phones during class when school starts this month. The district, which serves Windsor, Severance and western Greeley, announced it will enforce a cell phone ban in nearly all situations while students are on school grounds.
"We are implementing a new cell phone policy that we think will be great for everybody," said Kami Fockler, a local parent and member of the district accountability team.
Fockler said a team of local parents and staff worked together to try and find a way to eliminate the distractions of cellphones in classrooms that was appropriate for all ages. She said she recently read the book "The Anxious Generation," which uses data to show how younger generations have been impacted by the emergence of cellphones and social media.
The impacts can range from decreased learning to lower confidence and even depression.
She said she has noticed many children are more likely to take comfort in their phones than with their peers.
"They will text each other instead of talking," Fockler said. "They're more concerned with what is going on (in their hand) than they are with what is going on in their surroundings. I think that is a concern."
The Weld RE-4 district will start the 2025-2026 school year with a new policy that nearly bans all cell phone use in schools. The policy prohibits the use of cell phones inside elementary and middle schools. For high school students, they can only use their cellphones during passing periods and lunch.
Smartwatches are only allowed to be used for timekeeping purposes at all levels.
"We just want the best learning environment for the kids," Fockler said.
Many know that cellphones have been a distraction in classrooms for more than 20 years, especially as smartphones became more prevalent.
While some students use the devices in class to scroll social media, others have used them to cheat on school work or even communicate with their family for non-school related reasons.
"Kids will sometimes be ordering their lunch on them, they are playing a game. It takes away from the learning time," Fockler said.
The district announced students at all grade levels could face having their phones confiscated and turned over to school administrators for the remainder of the school day if they are caught using them. First offenses could result in students having to pick up the phone from the school office. Repeat offenses may include parents having to go to the school to retrieve the phone for their students.
Repeat offenders may also be required to complete additional assignments from the school to help them understand why the policies exist.
"Learning for the kids is the important thing, and that is why we need to concentrate on this,' Fockler said.
Governor Jared Polis signed a bipartisan bill into law that requires all Colorado school districts to create their own cell phone policies by the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
Fockler said Weld RE-4 was already exploring the idea of creating its policy before the law was created, adding she thinks the 2025-2026 school year will give the district the chance to see if its policy was effective before making any possible changes for the 2026-2027 school year.
"In the end, I hope we create great learning environments for the students, where their time isn't interrupted, and they can focus on their studies," Fockler said. "And (hopefully) the parents can see that in the kids' grades, they can see it in the way they feel about school."