Overview
- Oakland Unified finalized a strict phone policy that will take effect when school starts on Aug. 10 and requires elementary students to place devices in classroom lockboxes and older students to carry locked Yondr pouches.
- The ban covers use during class, between classes and lunch, and the district will confiscate devices for violations with repeat offenders’ parents asked to pick them up from school.
- The policy allows students to access phones for genuine health or safety emergencies or when a teacher, administrator, or doctor approves the use.
- OUSD officials say they are prepared for implementation but expect adjustment challenges and 'growing pains' as students, families and staff adapt to the new routines.
- Large research tracing more than 43,000 schools found that locking phones sharply cuts phone use but produced no immediate gains in test scores, attendance or cyberbullying while some Bay Area districts that already banned phones report higher engagement and less harassment, prompting calls for further study.