A new phone policy will be implemented in schools across Massachusetts, and it
will affect many people. This new rule is being applied as a result of a bill passed by the Senate
in July, 2025 with a vote of 38-2.
This phone policy will have a large impact on students across Massachusetts. Many of those students have different opinions about this new policy, like the freshman Myla Lariviere. This student expressed her opinion of this topic by saying, “I think that it is understandable but unreasonable for students that would need to contact their
parents.” Rylee Rumsey ,also a freshman at Pentucket, says, “ I don’t like it, because if something happens in school, you would not be able to reach parents. Phone holders should be kept and [there should not be a] ban phones entirely.”
Although the majority of students have negative opinions on this phone policy, it could have a greatly positive impact on teachers. According to a survey done by the Pew Research Center, 72% of high school teachers report that cell phone distraction is the main issue in class. The phone ban is aimed at the focus, mental health improvement, and a better learning environment for students.
However, there are difficulties that might impact the enforcement of the phone ban rule.
Students might want to hide their phones and use them secretly, or they might just ignore
the rule. Schools may also not enforce the rule efficiently. Pentucket Middle High School has teachers concerned with how the phone ban is going to be implemented, like Ms. Cavallaro, who says,” I think at the beginning of the day, kids should check the phones into the office because if not, kids will keep their phones and still use them.” Also,
students might not take the phone rule too seriously, shown by how they sometimes choose to keep their phone instead of complying with the current phone hotel system.
The phone rule may also come off as childish to students, because it
seems that the teachers and other adults do not trust high school students with a personal item,
even though most of them are almost adults. The phone rule could have
a negative impact on the students future, because with the ban, students will not be able to learn
how to deal with their phones responsibly when they are free to use them.
It also might impact how students learn to have a healthy relationship with their phone, because after a long day without it, they could potentially go straight to their phone and spend more time on it when they get home. On the other hand, when people are able to have short breaks with their phone, they lose that necessity to spend more time with their phone.
Students should also be granted the ability to use their phones, because high school students should have the maturity and responsibility to manage their cell phones without having it impacting their school life. If those
students do not have the ability to do a simple task, they just show that they are not ready to be going into adulthood, and that is going to impact them in the future.
