All Colorado school districts must now have a cellphone policy. Here’s what the 20 largest adopted

Melanie Asmar, KUNC

Nearly all of Colorado’s 20 largest school districts have adopted restrictions on cellphones before a state deadline Wednesday.

A state law passed last year required districts to pass cellphone policies by July 1, although it did not mandate that districts ban phones.

Five of the 20 largest districts adopted a bell-to-bell cellphone ban for all grades, meaning no cellphones from the first bell to the last bell. Eleven took a hybrid approach, prohibiting younger students from using phones throughout the school day, while allowing high school students to use them during lunch, passing periods, or when teachers permit it for certain class activities.

Three districts banned cellphone use during instructional time for all grades. And finally, one district’s policy says each school can create its own cellphone rules.

More schools nationwide are banning cellphones in an effort to reduce distractions in class and improve students’ mental health. But some students and parents have pushed back, arguing that cellphones are needed to coordinate pickups from school and in case of emergencies.

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