An Effective Cell Phone Policy for High School Classrooms

I have one of those core teacher memories that I wish I could take back. About a decade ago, I asked my students repeatedly to please, please, keep their phones in their backpacks during the lesson. One day, exhausted from asking them to follow this directive, I finally snapped at a student in front of the whole class for being on his phone. 

It was not my proudest moment—I embarrassed both of us.

What followed was a deep, personal reflection. If seeing cell phones upset me this much, and if asking students to put phones in their backpacks or on their desks face down wasn’t working, how could I make my classroom a place where I was proud of—and not annoyed by—the behavior of both my students and myself?

That was when I decided to implement a cell phone policy for my students—and for me. 

Prioritize Focus and Set the Example

Kaitlyn May and Anastasia Elder wrote compelling research about how distraction deteriorates learning: “Media multitasking interferes with attention and working memory, negatively affecting GPA, test performance, recall, reading comprehension, note-taking, self-regulation, and efficiency.” As Jonathan Haidt, author of the New York Times No. 1 best-seller The Anxious Generation, says, “Even when students don’t check their phones, the mere presence of a phone damages their ability to think.”

The heart of my cell phone policy is this: When I’m with my students, I want to truly be with them. Even as an adult, I have a hard time being fully present when I see a notification pop up on my screen. My goal is to create an environment that encourages flow—that optimal and focused experience. 

The most surprising part of my phone policy was my students’ eventual reaction. While they weren’t thrilled at first, many later confessed that they felt much more focused in class. One student wrote, “Putting my phone away helped me focus, make more connections with my teacher and peers, and helped me understand the importance of taking a break from screens!! When you aren’t worried about texts or social media, you can be mindful of your learning. Now, in college, I have a habit of not using my phone in class, labs, or even when I’m studying.”

6 Suggestions for a Day-To-Day Approach

1. Get your administrator’s support. Talk with your principal to ensure that they’re aware of your plans, support them, and are willing to back them up. 

2. Let parents and guardians know your expectations. As Brené Brown reminds us, “Clear is kind.”

3. Have a cell phone holder in your classroom. Many of these come with numbered slots; if yours doesn’t, number it, and then assign each student a number (I assign numbers alphabetically). Keep these numbers in a spreadsheet that’s easily accessible for you and your students. I print two copies: one to post for my students by the holder and one to have by my desk. Here’s a template you can follow.

4. Check that every student puts their phone in the holder every period, daily. Before I mark attendance and while students are working on their bell ringer, I look at my holder. If I notice a phone is missing, I check my spreadsheet to see who’s assigned to that slot. If that student’s phone is absent, I say to the student, “I need your phone, please—thank you!” And then I move down my list. I don’t make this a big deal—I assume they simply forgot. I check every cell phone slot, and then I mark attendance.

I estimate that I have three to five school days of not checking the holder before my students notice. If I forget, the holder is usually half-empty by the sixth. When that happens, it’s OK—we just start again.

5. Have a set time for when students can pack up and get their phones. For me, this is two minutes before the bell. When I start to hear early rustling, I gently remind the class that it’s only 9:07 and we don’t pack up until 9:08. “So open that book back up, please, and thank you.” As one kid said, “You’re super-nice and super-strict.” Both can exist.

6. Put your phone away, too. I put my own phone in my desk drawer. I tell my students I’ll only answer if it’s an emergency. If they’re expecting an important call, I ask them to let me know so I can make an exception for that day.

Pitfalls to Avoid in Implementing Your Policy

Don’t ask students if they have their phones. Instead, simply ask them to put their phone in their holder (I usually add, “Thank you!”) and then move on. Make a note if they complied or not, but don’t engage in a battle. Have a private conversation if needed. 

Don’t forget to check the holder every period, every day. Find a way to make it part of your routine. 

Don’t stop class just to check the holder. Check it while your students are working. 

Don’t get angry over phones. Phones aren’t the point; our students are the point. As with everything in teaching, calm is power. You likely have other procedures in your class, like asking students to sign out when they leave the classroom. Don’t make phones a big deal; it’s just another procedure.

Don’t use this as your means to take attendance. We cannot count a student absent because they didn’t put their phone in the holder. As a mom, I get a call if our son has an unexcused absence. This would be a terrifying call to receive if I had dropped him off at school or knew he had taken the bus. 

Some final tips and tricks

Here are some additional tips and recommendations:

• I often provide extra outlets for students to charge their devices. 

• I recommend not touching student phones. 
• I recommend not allowing students to bring their phones to the bathrooms, as it can encourage a different kind of distraction: meet-ups with peers during the time they should be in class. 
• In some classes, I’ve told students that as long as we can work together during class time undistracted, there won’t be any homework. 

While I believe you can implement a phone policy whenever you’d like, if you want to wait until the start of a new term, you absolutely can. You can also explain to your students why this policy is important to you (because their learning is important). However, in my experience, neither of these steps is necessary. 

If you’ve been thinking about implementing a phone policy, I encourage you to go for it! It was a game-changer for me. Of course, as with all procedures, the two main ingredients for success are preparation and consistency.