Will Houk is starting his 21st year teaching at Carson High School. During his first year of teaching, 2004, when the most popular cell phone was the Motorola Razr, students using phones during class wasn’t the problem it is today, he said.
“It’s been a kind of a slow process … of just mass distraction, of it becoming more of an issue over the years,” Houk said. He called it “a really significant management issue in the classroom.”
The 2024-25 school year is the first in which the Carson City School District is requiring students to put their cell phones in locked pouches during the school day. The pouches are produced by the San Francisco-based company Yondr. In the cell phone-free area, the pouches remain locked and can only be unlocked once people exit.
Houk, who currently teaches social studies and has taught U.S. history, world history and psychology throughout his career, said he had forbidden cell phone use in his classroom before the administration implemented the districtwide ban.
“In my classroom last school year, before school, I did a DonorsChoose—it’s kind of a GoFundMe for teachers—and raised money from community members to get cell phone lockers in my classroom,” Houk said. “(Cell phone use) just kind of reached a fever pitch for me.”
Houk’s breaking point came when one of his students answered a phone call during class, and it was from a parent.
“I was just dumbfounded that a parent would call in class, not just send a text,” Houk said. “What a massive disruption to the class that is.”
Houk is not alone in his struggle to keep students engaged in class. In a survey conducted this year by Pew Research Center, more than 70 percent of high school teachers said student phone distraction is a “major problem.”
As a result, Carson City is far from the only district banning cell phone use in schools. The trend started in Florida, which passed a law last year banning personal wireless devices, like smartphones and earbuds, during class time. Indiana, Louisiana and South Carolina have passed similar laws, according to The New York Times.
In Nevada, the Clark County School District also began requiring students in grades 6-12 to keep their cell phones in signal-blocking pouches this school year.
Houk, speaking with the RN&R four days after school started, said he has seen mixed reactions from parents online but has not personally felt any significant resistance since school has been back in session.
“Obviously, the students, they’re not a fan of it, which is understandable,” Houk said. “If I was a teenager, I probably would hate it. But I personally haven’t received a lot of pushback from students directly about the whole thing.”
Reducing cell phone use not only helps with reducing distractions; it can improve students’ mental health, according to one study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
However, some criticize studies like these for not addressing the root cause of students’ distress associated with social media and technology. Critics have also expressed worry that cell phone bans disproportionately harm students with adult responsibilities such as after-school jobs or taking care of family members.
In an age when school shootings are increasing, people have also expressed worry that cell phone bans could limit communication between students and parents in the case of an emergency.
Houk said he has two children and understands the desire to reach out to your kids, but, in the case of an emergency, multiple students texting their parents could have a negative outcome.
“Actually, the students having their phones out, it becomes an issue with cell phone towers, because if they’re all calling, texting and whatnot, it makes communication more difficult for the emergency responders who are trying to come to the school,” Houk said.
He also wants parents and students to know that teachers have students’ best interests in mind, whether they’re in an emergency situation or not.
“I honestly think that our school district is trying to not approach this from a punitive way, but more … what’s the best for education overall,” Houk said. “I think that they—the teachers and the administrators—all have the best intentions for kids. And the best intent is with learning in mind. And I think people should keep that in mind, you know, as we adjust and try to figure out the same situation.”
The Carson City school district could have purchased a cell signal blocker (called a jammer) for about $1,000. Instead, they purchased Faraday bags from yondr at $25 to $30 a pop. Wait until Elon Musk roots out government inefficiencies. LOL