Few hiccups as Washington schools limit students’ phones

WASHINGTON — Administrators say new rules concerning student cellphone use have not generated the resistance they expected across the Washington school district, as its buildings adopt new regulations to comply with state laws passed earlier this year.

While teachers and decision-makers expected an initial wave of pushback, Washington High School Principal Ed Rathjen said students were overwhelmingly compliant with the new rules at his building, where mobile devices are permitted during lunch, but not during class or passing periods.

And while a few students have been written up for violating the policy, Rathjen said the number of incidents was fairly low.

“It’s been really smooth,” he said. “We’re passed our third week, it’s really been very good. Part of it is, it’s a state law. I tell students we need to focus on things we can control; we can’t control what the state law is, we’re going to have to abide by the state law.”

Rathjen said the high school also restricted phones during instructional time last, but didn’t block their use between classes until now; he attributes at least some of the smooth transition to habits formed under the previous rules.

While the policy is less restrictive than that at WMS — where students aren’t permitted cellphone at any time during the school day — Rathjen said the setup made sense for older kids.

“We want to treat the kids like young adults, and the lunch time is their time,” Rathjen said. “We know that they’ll make the right decision and be on the phone at the appropriate time.”

School district Superintendent Willie Stone confirmed the results at Washington High School, and reported similar findings at WMS, which this year banned student cellphones at any point between the start and end of the day, including during lunch and between class periods.

Like Rathjen, he said he expected the new policy to be a bigger challenge going in.

However, Stone cautioned that admins would have to keep an eye on compliance with cellphone rules as the school year continues. He noted that every academic cycle started with a brief period of minimal behavior issues, while students are more excited about returning to class.

“When I go to lunches, kids aren’t getting on their phones as much, they’re just talking and being kids, and that’s the whole point of this,” Stone said. “We know there may still be more pushback, we don’t know if we’re through that honeymoon period yet.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com