RACINE — Priscilla Marquez gave a letter to students and families at a Mitchell K-8 School open house in August informing them about cellphone use changes during the upcoming school year.
Cellphones needed to remain in students’ lockers during the school day, otherwise they would be confiscated.
Marquez, Mitchell K-8 School principal, expected pushback from some parents who wanted to quickly contact their children during school, but she said the overwhelming sentiment was, “It’s about time.”
That was encouraging, and Marquez said the policy changes have resulted in fewer students on phones, fewer behavioral issues and better classroom learning and social engagement at Mitchell, 2701 Drexel Ave.
Principal Priscilla Marquez gave a letter to students and families at a Mitchell K-8 School open house in August informing them of cellphone use changes in the upcoming school year. The changes have resulted in fewer students on phones, fewer behavioral issues and better classroom learning and social engagement
Ryan Patterson
At Starbuck Middle School, staff have emphasized enforcement of the building’s cellphone policy since returning to in-person learning after the pandemic.
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“That’s the fight we’re going to fight,” said Ellis Turrentine, Starbuck Middle School principal. “We all just felt like it really would help us academically if we could get our kids focused.”
Starbuck school policy is for students to have phones stored in their lockers or backpacks. If a student has a cellphone out, school staff confiscate it, and students can pick up the phone at the end of the school day.
“Our kids know now that it’s not something we’re going to tolerate,” Turrentine said.
New cellphone committees
Mitchell and Starbuck are two of the Racine Unified schools that will soon have cellphone committees tasked with determining policies on phone use.
RUSD is trying to decrease cellphone usage in schools, which can negatively impact student learning and behavior.
Last week, RUSD cellphone committee members gave a presentation to the RUSD Board with recommendations about addressing cellphone use at schools, including creating a cellphone committee at every building.
The school cellphone committees will begin meeting in January 2024 and are expected to determine school policies by March for the 2024-25 school year.
April to June will involve educating students, teachers and families on the new policies, which will be enforced at the start of the 2024-25 school year.
The committees will make school policy that will be enforced in all classrooms. K-8 schools might have different guidelines for elementary schoolers and middle schoolers.
School policies will be reviewed and adjusted as needed.
Stacy Tapp, RUSD chief of communication and engagement, said all RUSD schools will develop a committee and create a plan, but the district will prioritize middle school and high schools first and then elementary schools.
Tapp
At Mitchell, Marquez said cellphone use is almost entirely a middle school issue, mainly among seventh and eighth graders. She estimated that 80-85% of Mitchell middle school students have a cellphone.
Turrentine, an RUSD cellphone committee member, estimated that 80% of students have a cellphone at Starbuck Middle School, 1516 Ohio St.
A 2019 Pew Research Center study found that 95% of Americans ages 13-17 have access to a smartphone, with 45% saying they are “almost constantly” using the internet.
Mitchell, Starbuck policies
At the end of last school year, Mitchell staff said cellphone usage was a major problem, so changes began this school year.
In addition to students, Marquez said it is important for Mitchell staff to not be on their phones during the school day.
“I practice what I preach,” Marquez said. “I feel we have to be role models, and if we expect the kids not to have them, then we shouldn’t either.”
Mitchell had an assembly on the first day of class clearly explaining the expectations to students.
If Mitchell teachers see a student possess a cellphone, they tell the student to put it in a locker. If that happens a second time, the staffer takes the phone for the rest of the school day and the student picks it up after school.
If cellphone possession happens a third time, a parent must come to the building to pick up the phone for the student, who receives an in-school suspension. Additional occurrences result in suspensions.
Marquez thinks most parents are receptive to the changes because they know excessive cellphone use can be detrimental for young people.
“Cellphones, they are good in some ways, but they can cause a lot of damage and a lot of mental health issues for kids,” Marquez said.
Phones can also lead to and exacerbate school fights. Students text where to meet to fight, and other students might use phones to take videos of fights.
Mitchell students caught doing those types of activities on their phones have them confiscated and face either an in-school or out-of-school suspension.
At Starbuck, if cellphone use is a repeat issue for a student, administrators talk to parents, nearly all of whom support the school policy, according to Turrentine.
Turrentine said Starbuck staff are on the same page about the cellphone policy. He said teachers rarely argue with students who don’t want to give up cellphones, instead notifying school administrators to talk with the student and confiscate the phone.
When walking through the halls, Turrentine sometimes sees a student use a phone when a teacher isn’t looking. If that occurs, he walks into the classroom, opens his hand and waits for the student to give him the phone.
“Our kids understand that we’re not making a big production out of this,” Turrentine said. “You know the rule. You know the policy, and that’s just the way it is.”
He said the number of phones confiscated at Starbuck depends on the day. Some days there aren’t any, while other days there are 20.
Concerted effort
At Mitchell, some students still possess and use their phones, but Marquez said cellphone use has decreased as this school year has gone on, since students are reminded every day about the expectations.
She believes the changes at Mitchell have been effective because they are emphasized daily. Most teachers are willing to enforce the policy or call school staff or administrators to do so.
“If that’s something you’re going to focus on and focus on, then it’s going to work,” Marquez said. “If it’s something you’re putting in place but there’s no real follow-through for it, then it’s never going to work.”
That is helpful for cellphone committee members to keep in mind as they develop new school policies starting next year.
How cellphone use while driving has changed in America since 2004
How cellphone use while driving has changed in America since 2004
Every day on America’s roads, there are more than 800,000 vehicles with a distracted driver behind the wheel. That alarming statistic—along with the sobering fact that in 2018, more than 2,841 people died due to distracted driving—is why lawmakers across the country continue to view cellphone use in cars as a public safety hazard.
Since New York became the first state to ban drivers from using a hand-held phone in 2001, the specifics of how—and when—to control cellphone use in cars have been debated in different states. In 2020, Idaho, Indiana, and Virginia became the newest states to pass bills prohibiting hand-held cellphone use. South Dakota did the same, but with some exceptions like holding the phone to their ear or using GPS navigation (if drivers aren’t typing in the address information).
Meanwhile, some states specifically ban logging onto social media sites, others define cellphone use by how many times you touch the screen to complete an action, and still, others impose stricter bans for bus drivers or law enforcement officers. Fines can range up to $275 and some states impose more serious penalties, like losing your license, for repeated violations.
Today, there is no state that has a blanket ban on all cellphone use for all drivers. But 24 states and the District of Columbia do have a ban on using hand-held devices, meaning drivers need to opt for hands-free and voice-activated commands when behind the wheel. Forty-eight states and D.C. prohibit text messaging of any kind while operating a vehicle.
Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. compiled statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on cell phone use trends over nearly two decades as laws, technology, and driver awareness have evolved. Broken down by age, this data looks at how driving behaviors range over different generations. Distracted driving is especially dangerous for teens: They are the most likely to be texting at any given moment, more likely to be recorded driving while using a cell phone, and are most likely to die in a crash involving a distracted driver.
Cellphone behavior while driving has changed as technology has developed
Hand-held cellphone use, or holding the phone to your ear while driving, along with wearing headphones are two driver behaviors that have seen significant declines since 2004. This may likely be due to the introduction of new technology in both phones and cars that allow for more seamless hands-free operation. It’s easier for drivers to take calls with both hands on the wheel.
However, visible manipulation of hand-held devices—when drivers can be seen tapping away on their devices—has risen steadily. As keyboard and flip phones have given way to touchscreen phones, it’s no surprise that Americans are less likely to put devices up to their ears and are instead constantly swiping their screens in their cars.
Fewer people are talking with the phones up to their ears
Hand-held cell phone use could indicate drivers might be taking a call, checking voice messages, or giving voice commands, but the key is they have one hand on the device and only one hand on the wheel.
While in the early 2000s, teens and young adults were the worst offenders of hand-held cell phone use, only about 2.6% of young drivers were reported driving while using hand-held phones in 2020, compared to 10% in 2005. Built-in integrations in many cars now allow drivers to use voice commands more easily than in the early 2000s, facilitating phone calls without the driver even touching their phone.
More drivers are seen using cell phones while driving
Even though texting while driving is the behavior most often associated with distracted driving, the rise of smartphones means we have many more reasons to look away from the road. Drivers have been visibly spotted setting up GPS navigation, using music streaming platforms, writing emails, or using thousands of other apps.
As holding a phone to your ear to talk becomes less common, scrolling around on phones has become more of a trend. Whether a phone is mounted to a dashboard or held in their hand, drivers can’t seem to resist tapping them—though not quite to the extent of hand-held cell phone use in the early 2000s.
Headset use while driving remains less common
Wearing a headset while driving can make it harder for drivers to be fully aware of their surroundings and alert to problems or warnings on the road. However, most states don’t have laws specifically against wearing headphones or wireless earbuds while driving. It’s less common than other types of distracted driving and its prevalence hasn’t shown a significant decrease or increase among drivers since 2004.
This story originally appeared on Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
