It’s a new school year – and with a new school year comes new rules.
Cell phone bans, dress code changes – in some cases banning hoodies and all-black clothing – and even the removal of mirrors from school bathrooms are among the changes schools across America are making in the name of safety and better student engagement.
Officials often cite concerns for students’ physical or mental health as reasons for the new standards. But the rules – and their enforcement – aren’t always cut-and-dried.
Cell phone distraction called ‘major problem’
As 72% of US high school teachers say cell phone distraction is “a major problem in the classroom,” according to a June report by the Pew Research Center, more schools are enacting rules or tightening enforcement of old ones to keep students off their screens.
But it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.
About a quarter of states have laws to restrict device use in schools or to recommend or incentivize limiting it, Education Week found.
Meanwhile, more and more school districts and individual campuses are carving out policies aimed at keeping kids away from cell phones, tablets and even smartwatches during the school day.
But while the move seems popular with school administrators – hundreds of principals have asked New York City Public Schools Chancellor David Banks to “take the phones,” he’s said – not everyone is sold, including parents who cite wanting to stay in touch with their children in an emergency.
As some of the nation’s largest schools districts – New York City Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District among them – weigh how to handle the issue, many US schools have already dug in on strict regulations and enforcement.
Some have policies banning students’ cell phones from ever entering a school, while others might require cell phones to be stored in lockers, backpacks, the front office or sealed magnetic pouches during classroom instruction. Others still allow for smartphone usage during lunch periods or recess only.
Fort Wayne Community Schools in Indiana offers an example of a more concrete and deliberate approach starting this school year. The district of over 28,000 students has implemented a phone-free policy for all secondary schools using magnetic Yondr pouches, according to the district’s website.
Students bring their pouch – a fabric bag no bigger than the average smartphone – to and from school each day, the district states. When a student enters the building, they drop their smartphone and any other personal electronic device in the Yondr pouch and lock it by pinching the top flaps together. Each student is expected to carry it with them, only opening the pouch at the end of the instructional day by placing it over a large magnet at an unlocking station – typically at the entrances and exits of the building.
The district has a broad definition of personal electronic device that includes: cell phones, smartphones, earphones, headphones, camera phones, camera devices, digital recording devices, scanning devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), MP3 players, iPods, iPads, tablets, smartwatches, computers, radios, pagers or any device or accessory allowing a user to access the internet.
Hoodies, Crocs and all-black outfits are out
Beyond devices, some schools this academic year are turning an eye toward kids’ wardrobes in what officials say is an effort to keep them keyed in on class.
Open-toe slide sandals, hooded sweatshirts and even Crocs or foam clogs have been against the rules for years at Bessemer City High School in Alabama, school leaders tell CNN affiliate WBRC. However, if students choose to wear them this school year, it could result in in-school suspension.
Tights, hats, sunglasses, bubble slide shoes, headbands, bonnets or bandannas, mid-rif shorts and shirts, tight-fitting bodycon dresses, shirts and skirts, and jeans with holes above the knees will be prohibited, according to the school, which announced the change in July via Facebook.
“This policy is a dress code to help foster a sense of community and reduce distractions, allowing students to focus on their studies,” the school said, echoing dress code rationale at schools across the country, including a similar hoodie ban in Flint, Michigan, public schools.
Bessemer City High Principal Stoney Pritchett wants parents and students to know administrators don’t want to diminish students’ creativity, rather prepare them for real world scenarios in which some attire may not be appropriate or acceptable, he told WBRC.
CNN reached out to Bessemer City High School administrators to see out how enforcement is going since classes resumed August 8.
Meantime, in El Paso, Texas, students at one middle school are encouraged to pick from lighter parts of the color wheel as they plan their outfits for the school day. Charles Middle School Principal Nick DeSantis informed parents all-black clothing is banned this school year due to it being associated with mental health issues like depression, CNN affiliate KFOX reported in August.
The recommended changes were approved at the campus level, El Paso Independent School District spokesperson Liza M. Rodriguez told CNN on Friday, adding no policy has been finalized for the whole district.
“These changes include substituting color options for students, mandating safe footwear, and eliminating sweatshirts with hoods and pockets to reduce opportunities for hiding, using, and distributing prohibited items,” she said.
The district did “regret … the intent behind the changes,” she added. Some teachers had noted a sudden change in students going from dressing with color to all black when they were depressed or stressed, El Paso Teachers Association President Norma De La Rosa had said, though some parents pushed back against the notion clothing color reflects students’ emotions, KFOX reported.
Students aren’t permitted to wear black clothing from top to bottom but may wear black shorts for physical education classes or on “free dress day,” De La Rosa said.
The school year began on August 5.
Updating bathrooms to discourage meetups
Some shared spaces are also getting a makeover this year in at least one US school district where modern distractions seemed to have started clashing with traditional decor.
Administrators in Alabama’s Alamance-Burlington School System had noticed middle school students taking more frequent bathroom breaks and up to 15 students using the restroom at once, district spokesperson Emily-Lynn Adkins told CNN on Friday.
The bathrooms “became a meetup place, and I think that they were seeing that some of the reasons were because they were making videos and things like that, while they were in the bathroom, in front of the mirror,” she said.
So, mirrors have been removed from some girls restrooms, Adkins told CNN, adding boys restrooms have never had mirrors; girls locker rooms and some bathrooms near the cafeteria and nurse’s office still have them.
Since the mirror removal – and the implementation of a digital smart pass, a virtual hall or bathroom pass generated via a student’s school-issued Chromebook computer – there has been a significant reduction in restroom visits throughout the day, Adkins said.
The middle school principal only got one phone call from a parent after the mirrors were removed, asking for more information about the new policy, she added. Otherwise, the students and their parents have been accepting of the change.
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