Tennessee K-12 schools look to restrict cell phone use during school day

According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, about a third of K-12 teachers and nearly 75 percent of high school instructors say that students being distracted by cell phones is a major issue in their classrooms. To help curb the problem and keep students more engaged, more and more schools are restricting students’ cell phone use during the school day.

Among them is Morristown-Hamblen High School in Morristown, where students are banned from using personal electronic devices during school. The district policy, which was approved in April by the Hamblen County Board of Education, requires students to turn off their cell phones and leave them in their bags until dismissal.

Hamblen County Schools Superintendent Arnie Bunch said that the ban was put in place due to concerns over cyberbullying and false threats, which has been a major issue for school districts across the state this year.

“In basic terms, our driving force behind the policy change was our desire to create a safe learning environment that is conducive to educating our students,” he told Tennessee Firefly. “We were seeing too many nefarious acts that were hindering or impacting safety or were disruptive to the learning environment.  Bullying was just one of the items we were experiencing but not the sole driver.”

Bunch said the new cell phone policy has helped to boost student engagement, both in the classroom and with each other. He said the implementation of the policy has been successful so far this school year, adding that the district has had very little pushback from parents who largely supported the measure.

“When I go into the schools today between classes or at lunch, it is noticeably louder -- which is good.  The students are talking to each other and not sitting at a lunch table texting people around the table.  The students are more engaged in the classroom,” Bunch said.  “I have heard this from teachers and administrators, but I have also heard it from parents.  The students have told their teachers it is better and some have told their parents.  One student told a parent now they don't feel peer pressure to be on their phones during the school day because no one is.”

Meanwhile, Science Hill High School in Johnson City and Tennessee High School in Bristol, Tennessee, have also increased restrictions on cell phone use for the 2024-25 school year due to similar concerns. According to a report from WJHL, Science Hill students are prohibited from using cell phones in school, aside from passing periods and lunch. Cell phone use is completely banned until dismissal at Tennessee High School.

“I think that you have to deal a lot with bullying and harassment [related to cellphones],” Tennessee High School Principal Kim Kirk said to WJHL. “I think it causes anxiety. When kids can come here and just learn and just talk and have conversations and be free from being videoed or pictures taken all the time, I think it’s freeing to them. “

The recent moves to restrict cell phone use in schools comes as Tennessee lawmakers get set to revisit a bill that would ban cell phone use during school statewide.

According to a report from WKRN, HB 2758 moved through the legislature in early 2024, but failed after a split vote in the House Education Administration Committee. The bill is being sponsored by State Rep. Rebecca Alexander, R-Jonesborough, who told WKRN that she plans to reintroduce the bill due to support from superintendents and educators across the state.

“Sometimes we throw a bill out there and we look at it and then it doesn’t pass, and we bring it back the next year and it passes,” Alexander told WKRN. “Sometimes it’s a matter of us educating everyone on why we need this bill and the importance of it.”