Washington State School OK’s Plans to Lockdown Phones – Agree or Disagree?

Washington State School OK's Plans to Lockdown Phones - Agree or Disagree?

School is getting out for the summer in Washington State but when students return in the fall, one middle school has a solution for cell phones in the classroom.

Can Schools Legally Lock Up A Student's Cell Phone In Washington State?

Hamilton International Middle School in Seattle has found a way to store student cellphones without distracting educators and the new policy takes effect for the 2024-2025 school year.

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According to an article from KATU-2, the school has purchased Yondr pouches which have been used at concerts by several big stars that request your phone be put away during the show.

The Yondr pouches work as such, you place your phone in the pouch, and your phone stays with you all day but if you need to unlock it, you go outside the phone-free zone and unlock it on a base.

The pouches cost between $20 - $25 and the school hopes that locking away the phones will help both educators and students alike. The school currently has a no-cell phone policy during school hours but the enforcement falls on the teachers.

I talked with a Pasco School educator and she told me that Pasco does have a cell phone policy. Phones go into backpacks for the duration of the school day while students are on campus. Pasco will call a parent after a second offense of the cell phone policy.

So let me ask you this question, do you agree that cellphones should be locked away during school hours?  Take our poll and let me know

The good news is that according to statistics on the Yondr website, students who put away their cell phones have an 83% better participation rate in the classroom with 65% of students showing academic improvement with the locking up of cell phones during the school day.