The Los Angeles Unified School District board passed a plan on Tuesday, June 18 to develop rules to ban cell phones on all LAUSD campuses for the entire school day, due to concerns over the distractions that the devices can pose and the mental health impacts of phone and social media overuse.
The 5-2 vote does not automatically mean the ban will be imposed in LAUSD, but instead instructs district staff to consult with parents, students, labor representatives and other stakeholders and develop proposals for implementation and enforcement of a cell phone ban.
School Board member Nick Melvoin sponsored the resolution, with Board President Jackie Goldberg and Board Member Tanya Ortiz Franklin signing on as co-sponsors.
Melvoin’s resolution envisions implementing the ban on cell phones by January 2025. It would ban phone use not only during class time, but also during breaks and lunch.
Also on Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that he would work to severely restrict the use of cell phones during the school day. And a bill pending in the California Legislature would require school districts to adopt measures prohibiting or limiting students’ use of phones while at schools.
Newsom said he would work with the legislature, which is dominated by Democrats, to pass cell phone restrictions on students during the legislative session before the legislators go back to their home districts in August.
LAUSD is the largest school district in the country to set in motion this kind of cell phone restriction policy.
“I’ve been struck by how our students are glued to their cell phones, not unlike adults,” Melvoin said. “They’re surreptitiously scrolling in school, in class time or have their head in their hands, walking down the hallways. They’re not talking to each other or playing at lunch or recess because they have their AirPods in.”
Board members Scott Schmerelson and George McKenna voted against the resolution, citing the ban’s lack of separation between instructional and non-instructional time. McKenna also raised concerns about potential conflicts arising from students who opposed handing over their phones for the entire school day.
“I believe that everyone here is well-intentioned,” McKenna said. “But what happens when a child is using their phone and refuses to give it up?”
LAUSD board members are not the only lawmakers worried about student cell phone use. .
Melvoin said the way LAUSD’s ban will be enforced, if it is adopted, will vary based on each school’s needs, age groups and input, but some options include putting devices in sealable magnetic pouches or cell phone lockers.
Malinda Marcus, an eighth grade English teacher at Mulholland Middle School, spoke at the Tuesday meeting in support of a cell phone ban.
“I’ve seen students become belligerent and defiant when having to depart from their phones for a mere 52 minutes,” Marcus said.
The LAUSD resolution cites a 2016 survey by Common Sense Media that found that half of teens feel “addicted” to their phones, and a 2023 Common Sense Media study of 200 students that found 97% of 11- to-17-year-olds used their phones during the school day.
“According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16% of U.S. high school students in 2021 said they had been bullied via text message or social media platforms over the previous year,” the board’s resolution states.
Candice Odgers, associate dean and professor of psychology and informatics at UCI, who has researched youth mental health for 20 years, has expressed concerns over whether there is enough research to support cell phone and social media bans.
Odgers said in a statement, “science to date does not support the widespread panic around social media and mental health. More research is of course needed – and we need to continue to pay attention to all of the settings where young people spend their time.”
Melvoin noted that LAUSD’s current policy on electronic devices hasn’t been updated since 2011.
Some teens and parents have raised concerns about a cell phone ban, saying it would inhibit students’ ability to communicate with their family in an emergency.
Daniel Pearl Magnet High School student Abraam Grigorian said he understands that cell phone use is a problem at schools, but he believes a total ban isn’t the answer. Grigorian uses his phone to communicate with his mother, who does not speak English.
“The cell phones can be a distraction, but it’s not everyone misusing them,” Grigorian said. “They should talk to the parents and us about this.”
Reseda High School student Neel Thakkar spoke in support of a ban at Tuesday’s board meeting.
“This resolution highlights that (cell phone use) is a huge detriment not only to mental health but it’s a distraction from the learning materials that we need, that are vital to us having a successful future,” Thakkar said.