Starting Tuesday, student cellphones, smartwatches and earbuds are banned during the school day in Los Angeles Unified, but there is not yet a complete picture about what the policy will look like throughout the district.
LAUSD’s cellphone ban begins Tuesday
The district designated $7 million for schools to purchase pouches, lockers, and other devices to store students’ phones. Schools could also opt for the free option of asking students to store their phones, smartwatches and earbuds in their backpacks.
“The district, both regionally and centrally, has been part of the decision process as schools determined which solution they’ve identified for their campuses,” wrote a Los Angeles Unified spokesperson in a statement.
LAist gave LAUSD four business days to answer questions about how schools are implementing the policy, how much money was spent and how the district was measuring success. The spokesperson said the staff members responsible for providing the information were managing the district’s response to Thursday’s rainstorm.
In interviews and comments to LAist, educators, students and families expressed optimism, excitement, frustration and confusion about the policy in the days leading up to implementation.
Venice High School English teacher Hazel Kight Witham has advocated, with several colleagues, for a “phone-free” campus for two years.
She said there’s been a shift in the conversation since last summer.
“We just had so much more wide-scale support and urgency,” Kight Witham said. “Which felt so amazing and validating and really hopeful, and then, of course, we get into the crushing banality of logistics.”
In an informal LAist survey, parents’ reactions ranged from “I wish it would have happened sooner,” to “it’s a terrible waste of money.”
LAUSD cellphone rules — a quick overview
Students must turn off and store their cellphones, smartwatches and earbuds during the school day.
Students can use devices before and after school.
There are exceptions during the school day for students who need their phones for the following:
- Help with translation.
- Health-based reasons, e.g. to monitor blood sugar.
Students with disabilities who use a cellphone or other technology as part of an Individualized Education Program or 504 plan will also not lose access to their devices.
Schools must provide students access to their phones in case of an emergency.
Implementing a ban across hundreds of schools
The LAUSD Board approved the ban in June and cited rising concerns about the impact of the technologies on youth mental health, bullying and distraction from classroom instruction.
“This is not supposed to be a punitive measure,” said Boardmember Nick Melvoin, the policy’s main proponent. “We really want folks to buy in to why this is great for them mentally, physically, [and] academically.”
Melvoin said one goal was to remove the responsibility from individual teachers to police student cellphone use.
“A lot of them had given up, whether that was a principal or teacher, on banning cellphones because it was just too hard if you did one class and not another,” Melvoin said.
A state law passed months later requires schools statewide to restrict student phone use by July 2026.
In the months leading up to the ban’s implementation, the district’s nearly 700 elementary, middle and high schools began meeting with parents, staff and students to determine how each campus would adopt the policy.
South Gate High School started requiring students to store their phones in sealed magnetic pouches on Feb. 5.
Social studies teacher Jordan Smith told LAist that after a few days of complaining, he started to see more cooperation from students.
“I don’t know if this is because it is truly working or if the students have just gotten smarter about hiding cellphones,” Smith wrote. “I think it is helping a portion of our student population overall have a more healthy relationship with their phones.”
Board President Scott Schmerelson, who was one of two votes against the ban last year, said the policy appears to be rolling out smoothly in the west San Fernando Valley.
Schmerelson said he’s visited schools where phones are stowed in unlocked storage cases in each classroom.
“I didn’t see any anxiety faces on kids knowing that their phone was not on them,” Schmerelson. “So I was quite pleased.”
Uncertainty and frustration
But as of Thursday afternoon, some parents and educators reported the equipment required to implement the ban had yet to arrive.
Venice High sophomore Sophia Parrish said she was frustrated by the lack of information in the week leading up to the ban.
“I’ve just been hearing a lot of repetition of ‘It’s happening. It’s happening. It’s happening. It’s happening,’” Parrish said. “And not, ‘This is what it’s going to look like.’”
For example, she did not know as of Wednesday where she’ll be expected to store her phone during the school day next week.
“I’m somebody who actually does take that knowledge and do my own research,” said Parrish, who has also reported on the school’s cellphone policies for the student-run news site the Venice Oarsman. “Then I can better formulate my opinions about the policy.”
LAUSD did not confirm the timeline for providing supplies to schools to implement the policy.
“Schools have also been providing communication to families about the timeline, implementation process, expectations, and accountability,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement. “This will be a fluid process as school communities familiarize themselves with the new policy.”
What’s next?
LAist wants to hear from families, educators and students about how your local school is implementing the cellphone ban. We’ll read every response to this survey and may be in touch for an interview.
