School phone ban begins with new school year, here's what to know

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — As students return to class across Oklahoma, a new state law means they’ll be banned from using phones and other personal electronic devices during school hours. News 4 checked with several metro districts to learn what families need to know before heading back to school.

The law, which Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law in May, requires students to keep their devices put away from the first bell to the last, but enforcement will look different depending on the district.

“You know, summer is always tricky year here,” said Rich Inga, principal at Edmond North High School. “The building is quiet. The halls are empty.”

That will change next week, when students return—and this year, Inga said, they’ll notice something new.

“We will not be allowing students to access their phone during from bell to bell,” Inga said.

It’s the same policy at Edmond’s Cimarron Middle School.

“State law was passed. Entering this school year, no electronic devices allowed any of our school sites,” said Kyle Harrison, principal at Cimarron.

The law bans public school students from using personal devices like phones, laptops, wireless headphones, and smartwatches throughout the entire school day.

“AirPods, smart glasses, even handheld gaming systems like a Nintendo Switch, those are not to be used during the school day,” said Adam Jewell, executive director of secondary education at Yukon Public Schools.

That includes places like the cafeteria, since lunchtime falls within the school day.

“It has to be silenced and put away from bell to bell,” said AJ Graffeo, public information officer for Putnam City Public Schools.

Graffeo said the law does allow exceptions.

“There is an exception for medical monitoring,” Graffeo said. “There are also exemptions for IEPs, 504s, and other medical plans.”

While the law sets a standard statewide, it leaves districts with leeway on how to implement it.

News 4 checked with the largest school districts in the Oklahoma City area, including Oklahoma City Public Schools, Edmond Public Schools, Moore Public Schools, Norman Public Schools, Putnam City Public Schools, Mustang Public Schools, and Yukon Public Schools.

Those districts all told News 4 their students will still be allowed to bring their devices to school—they just can’t use them during the school day.

Those districts say students can still access them in an emergency.

“That was to make sure that our community felt safe knowing that their children still had access to their cell phones in case of an emergency,” Inga said.

Policies differ slightly by district when it comes to what happens if students are caught breaking the rule.

“They’re going to go turn their phone into the front office,” Jewell said of Yukon Public Schools’ policy. “That student’s going to be assigned a day of lunch detention, and then they will then be able to pick up their phone all by themselves at the end of the school day.”

“The first offense will be that the phone stays in the office until the end of the day,” Inga said of Edmond Public Schools’ policy.  “The second offense—we will call the parent to have the parent pick up the phone. Third offense—the student will check in the phone for two weeks. Fourth—the student will check in for four weeks. And fifth—the student will check it in for the semester.”

Officials say the change will take some getting used to—not just for students, but for parents as well.

“We might have to go turn back the clock a little bit to the days where we call the front office and get a message to our kids through the front office,” Jewell said.

Another challenge districts pointed out involves technology, photography, and media classes—where personal smart devices could sometimes be useful.

Districts told News 4 the law does not ban school-issued devices like Chromebooks.

Some districts say, if a class requires something more advanced than a Chromebook, they will try to purchase the necessary equipment and issue it to students directly.

All the educators News 4 heard from say, at the end of the day, the law is the law—and they’re going to follow it.

“I think this is going to go a long way in our ability to really focus on instruction, eliminate this as a distraction, and allow our students to really focus in on the learning that’s taking place in the classroom,” Harrison said.