Are students addicted to their phones? According to the state of California, not for long. On August 28th, 2024, the Phone-Free School Act was passed by the California legislature, which requires all schools in California to begin developing a strategy to limit the use of phones in schools. While districts have until July 2026, San Diego Unified plans to implement the new policy by 2025. The plan would require students to put their phones in lockers for the school day, specialized phone pouches, or mobile phone pocket holders.
On August 26th, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer announced a policy to curb cell phone use in schools to improve students’ mental health. Within this policy is a $100,000 grant for lockers, phone pouches, and phone pockets. The grant includes La Jolla High as one of the schools eligible for funds for these amenities. Although these policies intend to improve the well-being of students, many students have voiced concerns about the dangers of the change in the phone policy. When asked his opinion on the new policy, senior Justin Woods said, “That’s going to really suck because in case of emergency, they won’t be able to use their phones.” Another senior, Nini Nguyen, agreed, and said “we should be allowed to have our phones due to emergencies.” The issue of safety with the new policy begs the question of whether measures to improve the safety of students should be prioritized among changes in the policy of Californian schools.