The new phone policy at Issaquah High school has led to controversy and buzz throughout our school community. Finding a middle ground between having access to tech for safety and keeping students focused without their screens is difficult for school administrators, but the new Issaquah phone policy has the potential to increase student productivity, focus, and overall learning.

The strict Issaquah phone policy is not a new idea. According to https://www.nea.org/, in 2020, 76% of American schools had implemented a restrictive phone policy. The disconnection from face-to-face interactions is one of the biggest concerns about having phones at school.

According to Social Media Victims Law Center, “Social media and social skills can have a detrimental relationship, especially in areas of confidence and communication in this still-developing age group.” The organization believes that if a teenager interacts more on social media than in-person, they will have more of a struggle identifying important social cues, such as personal space boundaries, eye contact, and facial expressions. More than half of kids as young as 11 own a phone, which can have detrimental effects on their attention span and social intelligence, which are important having competent social intelligence is crucial for colleges, jobs, and interacting with people daily.

Another important factor in taking away phones during school is focus. The smartphone is known to be something that destroys attention spans, which are crucial to learning and focus. While it may seem problematic to ban all phones because it gives students less control, students can focus on finishing work in class instead of pulling out their phones and scrolling, leaving less stress when students get home.

The opposing side to this argument is that banning phones completely will only amplify the problems they are trying to decrease. Many have the firm belief that access to phones is a right, not a privilege. The lack of access to their phone can increase stress on students, cause nervous parents, and the lack of trust given to students can increase rebellion. Many experts believe instead of an outright ban, it could be beneficial to use tech for learning. Tech use isn’t going away anytime soon so it could be important to utilize it in a productive way. One way tech could be important for learning is educational learning platforms and easy to access information such as Canvas, Khan Academy, and ClassLink.

Along with education, technology can help students feel more comfortable in a school environment. School can make many people anxious and being able to be on their phone can serve as almost a “safety net” to these students. Kids want to be able to use their phones if they need to for a variety of reasons such as adding assignments to their calendar, contacting parents about questions, and emailing their boss at work.

The comfort phones can provide can be true for not only students, but parents as well. School shootings, lockdowns, and natural disasters are a parent’s worst nightmare. But even worse is not knowing if your child is safe. Because of this, many parents are outraged and worried about the fact that their only means of communicating with their child while in school is being revoked.

In summary, the issue of accessing phones during class is still a new one, and researchers have lots to learn on how technology can impact students socially, as well as educationally. The Issaquah phone policy is one step in the right direction to creating a student body full of academic success and growth.