Indiana Schools Adapt to Students' Cell Phone Use

A high school student thinks she'd be less distracted in her classes if she were able to check her texts and messages more often.

Bridgette Hardwick would like to be able to check her phone while she's walking to class to see if her friends or her boyfriend, who isn't in school, sent a message.

"Some teachers think if we got to use our phones, we'd be distracted. But I wouldn't be so focused on who is texting me," Hardwick said.

Franklin Community High School, where Hardwick is a sophomore, was one of three local schools that changed policies this year and allowed students more access to their phones during the school day.

But the school stopped short of giving students free rein to use phones whenever they please. And while students were happy with the new freedom, some said they think the school could go further, allowing them to check their messages, surf the Internet or send a quick text between classes.

That is the policy at two other local high schools, students pointed out.

In recent years, local schools have tested new rules for cell-phone use, hoping to cut back on the number of teens getting in trouble for sneaking a text and to teach them how to responsibly use the technology that dominates their lives.

"It's one of those things that's just becoming more and more part of our everyday culture. We're teaching them responsibility, so they know when to use it and when not to," said Ruben DeLuna, Center Grove High School dean of students.

As recently as four years ago, schools across the county didn't allow cell phones to be brought into the buildings at all. But as cell phones became more popular and widely carried by students, officials changed the rules.

Now, Franklin elementary school students can bring phones to school but must keep them in their bags.

Four out of the county's six high schools allow students some access to their phones during the day.

Franklin gives students cell-phone access only during lunch, and Greenwood allows them to use their phones during lunch and study hall.

At Center Grove and Whiteland, students are allowed to use their phones when they are not in class, including between classes and during lunch.

At Indian Creek and Edinburgh, students aren't allowed to use their phones during the day. Officials there said they don't see the need for students to use phones during the school day, despite objections from students.

"I don't know they're OK with it, but they try to abide by it. But it's an ever constant battle. The kids are digital natives, and we're digital immigrants as adults," Indian Creek High School Principal Andy Cline said. The changes in school policy come from updates in technology and a push from students and sometimes parents, who often are the ones texting and calling their children during the day, school officials said.

The new policies also are more reflective of what students will find at jobs and in college, where they are trusted to use their phone at appropriate times, DeLuna said.

"There are some sticklers that want to go back to the old way; but it's 2010, and I think everybody has a cell phone," he said.

DeLuna thinks the changes in the high school's policy have cut the number of violations that administrators used to see because students are able to check their phones regularly throughout the day.

Allowing students to carry their phones also has reduced reports of teens losing their phones or having them stolen, since they always know where their phone is, he said.

Lifting the restrictions also allowed the school to be more strict with punishment. Now, school officials don't give students a warning when they violate the policy. They get a one-hour after-school detention, DeLuna said.

At Greenwood Community High School, administrators have seen fewer violations this school year, partly due to allowing students to use their phones during lunch and study hall, assistant principal Marlowe Mullen said.

The reduction also could be due to a change in the punishment, which now requires students to serve a Saturday school before they can get the phone back from the school. Phones are confiscated when students violate the rules, Mullen said.

Not all schools changed policies.

Middle schools across the county don't allow students to carry or use their phones during the school day, but students report people sneaking a look or sending a quick text in restrooms and locker rooms throughout the day.

Center Grove Middle School Central Principal Jack Parker said students are allowed to have their phones at school so they can arrange for rides after school. Calling parents is commonly the reason students say they need their phones, but he knows cell phones also are their social networking tool, he said.

"They would like to have them all the time," Parker said.

Students call the rules too strict, especially since they'll be able to use their phones more freely in high school.

"I don't see how it's interfering with school if it's in the hallways or at lunch," said Abby Lord, an eighth-grader at Center Grove Middle School Central.

Students also cited a need to contact parents during the school day about after-school plans or something they may have forgotten at home.

Breann Boswell said her mom has texted her during the school day or needed a question answered, and she thinks the school should allow students to use their phones to contact their parents.

"I don't think it's fair if we really need to talk or call our parents because sometimes we can't use the school phones," she said.

School officials said the phones aren't needed during the school day, and students stay more focused on school if they don't have their phones.

"We really just see no educational value for the phones. We really just want to keep the day focused on education," said Walt Raines, dean of students at Franklin Community Middle School.

School officials talk every year about the school's policies and how they are working. The cell phone policy will be discussed, but Raines said he had no idea if it would change.

At Edinburgh and Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson schools, where cell phones are not allowed to be used at any schools, officials said they don't plan to change the policies.

"We're standing pretty firm on what we've decided. Kids are here to learn, and cell phones are just a huge distraction," said Curtis Chase, assistant principal at the high school and middle school in Edinburgh.

The same is true at Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson schools, where officials said they don't see why students need their phones during the school day.

At the high school, officials also have concerns about students using the phones to cheat, since at least two students have been caught in recent years, Cline said.

The phones also are a distraction, such as when they ring during class, Cline said.

"We're not changing the policy for next school year. It's already set," he said.

School officials said they know strict policies aren't always followed.

The policy at Indian Creek Middle School is to have cell phones turned off and in lockers throughout the school day. But Principal Connie Richhart said she knows that isn't always happening, and she believes students are violating the school's policy every school day during every class period.

"Most of them have the phone on them. Sometimes they're not even really being that sneaky about it," she said.

She doesn't see a need for students to carry their cell phones. Each classroom has a phone that students can use. And she wonders whom they would call anyway.

"Most of their friends are here, so I don't know who they would need to contact," Richhart said.