BBCHS officials explore cell phone use in school

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School administrators have been keeping a close eye on students’ cellphone use in classrooms, but Superintendent Matt Vosberg said he doesn’t anticipate a full-on ban happening anytime soon.

With limited cellphones in schools being implemented in Illinois and several other states, the BBCHS District 307 School Board discussed the issue during its February meeting.

The cellphone policy at BBCHS allows students to have the devices in school, but they cannot use them during instructional time.

“We have a policy, so the question is, is the policy effective?” Vosberg said.

Ramie Kolitwenzew, chief school business official, said the administration team has been looking at research and discussing the school’s cellphone policy at the request of board member Sally Martell.

“I think it’s important that we did identify two factors: the potential interruption of engagement in the classroom, as well as the social-emotional [effects],” Kolitwenzew said. “Those two different problems have two different solutions and two different ideas to focus on.”

Classroom disruption

Based on more than 60 classroom observations by school administrators, cellphone use during instructional time does not seem to be a major issue at BBCHS, Vosberg said.

By and large, they have not seen students pulling out phones during class or hiding them when an administrator enters for a random observation.

“We are going to work with our teachers, because I know there are teachers who would like us to ban cellphones for them,” he said.

If a student doesn’t respond to a teacher’s direction to put away their phone, the teacher can write the student a referral.

The school has had about 20 cellphone referrals this school year among almost 2,000 students.

“Either kids are doing a really good job of listening to their teachers, or teachers aren’t writing them up,” Vosberg said. “So we need to do work on it. What we’re not going to do is make a policy change without data.”

Vosberg expects by the end of the school year, school officials will have a better handle on whether or not the current policy is supporting teachers.

“We need to do a deeper dive,” he said.

Mental health considerations

The second piece of the puzzle – how excessive or inappropriate usage beyond school hours affects mental health – is a more complex problem, he said.

“Quite frankly, we need to look around and see what other districts are doing [to address mental health],” Vosberg said.

Martell said the district should be willing to be “visionaries” on the issue and not always rely on what others are doing. She is most worried about excessive cellphone use hindering social skills.

“But at least the discussion is still out there,” Martell said. “I think that there is a lot of intimidation of parents and teachers and schools to touch that issue because it’s so volatile.”

State-level proposals

In his State of the State address last week, Gov. JB Pritzker touted a proposed law limiting the use of cellphones in schools.

Bills introduced in both houses of the General Assembly would require school districts to create policies banning the use of personal cellphones during instructional periods with some exceptions, according to the Associated Press.

Exceptions would include when an emergency or threat arises, when a teacher or doctor approves, or to assist with plans for special education/English language learners.

If the legislation is approved, schools would need to implement policies by the 2026-27 year, create a means for secure but accessible storage of phones and tablets, and review those guidelines at least every three years.

The issue is being explored on a national scale as well.

Eight states have policies that ban or limit school cellphone use. Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky and Michigan are among 15 states where bans or other restrictions have been proposed, according to AP.

“Improving the classroom environment and limiting distractions is vital to student achievement, and in conversations with educators and parents around the state – there is one thing they commonly cite as an impediment to learning in the classroom: cellphones,” Pritzker said during the annual address.

“Furthermore, cyberbullying has expanded at alarming rates, and it’s time for Illinois to take measures to protect our kids.

“That’s why this session, I’ll move forward with legislation requiring all school districts in Illinois to adopt a cellphone policy that bans the use of phones during classroom instruction.”

Taking a look around

Vosberg said the language used in the proposed legislation – to ban cellphones during class with some exceptions – mirrors what is already being done at BBCHS and other schools.

When talking with other superintendents from the Illinois High School District Association, Vosberg said he has not heard anyone suggesting an outright ban on cellphones on school grounds.

“I am old enough to remember banning cellphones as an administrator,” Vosberg noted. “We did that, and then they became so common that parents wanted kids to have access to them via phone, and so it’s hit that acceptable-use policy. That’s what we have.”

Illinois banned cellphones in schools as early as the 1990s when cellular devices were new, expensive and thought to be the domain of drug dealers, the AP reported.

As technology improved, cellphones were seen as vital links to the outside, particularly family, and in 2002, the Legislature reversed itself and approved their presence in schools, according to AP.

“We have to make sure our policy is working,” Vosberg added. “I think it is, but we’ll do some more homework on it.”