Cell phones are poised to be one of the biggest education stories of this school year. Cell phone policies will be debated in every school district across Minnesota this year after state lawmakers voted to require all districts to have official policies in place by March 2025.

The chief concern is cell phones are distracting students and negatively impacting their learning. But school leaders say setting a policy for cell phones is not simple and the rules will likely be different for students of different ages.

“I said that’s it I’ve had it.” Amy Kujawski said, who is principal at St. Anthony Middle School. 

Kujawski is starting a second full school year with a strict no cell phones rule in place for the entire school day for her sixth, seventh and eighth graders. 

“If we see your phone we’re going to take it,” she said.

Kujawski said at first students pushed back when the school first gave the rule a trial one. But now she says most have accepted the rule and overall students have become more focused and engaged in class. Kujawski credits her school’s teachers for helping to make the policy work.

“My staff has a commitment they know we are stronger when we stick to our values which is we’re learning together,” she said.

But setting cell phone rules is not as simple for Armstrong High School principal Erick Norby in Plymouth.

“Here we’re working with young adults kids with jobs kids who might be a caretaker for younger siblings,” Norby said.

Norby’s school is also starting a second year with cell phone rules in place. But at Armstrong, the high school students are allowed to have cell phones with them. School leaders say they recognize the phones are an important connection to family especially in the case of a school emergency. 

The rules are that phones must be on silent and away during classes and Armstrong students can only use phones during passing times and at lunch. Teachers are also encouraged to lead by example and keep phones away during class. And if a situation arises where a student might need to take a call during class for an important reason, Norby says those students are encouraged to speak up. He says the goal is to help teach students appropriate phone use for the real world after graduation.

“They don’t have to go into detail if they don’t want to and we will respect that privacy,” he said. “But communicate. Be a young adult show the teacher you’re here to get an education first.”

Norby said only a handful of students had to have their phones taken away last year and feedback from parents to the rule has been overwhelmingly supportive. Norby says on top of keeping students focused the rule has also reduced another significant problem at the high school — bullying.

“It’s astronomical how powerful that is if we can eliminate some of the social media bullying, we are going to do it,” Norby said.

Minnesota state lawmakers have required all school districts across Minnesota to have official written cell phone politics in place. So even though St. Anthony Middle School and Armstrong High School already have rules they’ve been using the school boards in those districts will still have to adopt official district-wide policies to come into compliance with state law. The Minnesota School Boards Association is expected to release an example policy for districts to use as a guide as they craft the policies in December.