Schools Weigh Pros and Cons of Student Cell Phone Use

Jennifer Henry recently experienced a textbook example of the debate over whether students should be using cell phones at school. 

Henry, a communications specialist for the Francis Howell School District, said it happened on Oct. 21 when Hollenbeck Middle School had to be evacuated due to a bomb threat. 

It turned out to be a false alarm, but students were evacuated while authorities searched the school building. Students went to Central Elementary School and Francis Howell Central High School. A 14-year-old was later turned over to juvenile authorities. Another threat occurred at the school on Oct. 23. 

When they get worried, parents and students text, Tweet and call each other – with unintended consequences. 

“The kids get (information) out quickly, they’re not interested in whether it’s accurate, they just reacting to what they see or rumors,” Henry said. “We want to make sure that we send out the right information.” 

Most schools and school districts have the ability to notify parents quickly through a variety of ways. But kid’s fingers can be quicker.

“We had parents showing up before we could evacuate students,” Henry said.

Getting the message

Not getting the right information out can often be counterproductive in an emergency. Cell phone calls from students can be reassuring to parents, but they also can be needlessly upsetting. 

Authorities at the scene may have to deal with anxious parents who have arrived while dealing with a crisis at hand. 

But the issues surrounding student use of new and ever more convenient communications devices also raise other questions--not only in dealing with other aspects of emergency response, but also in how to properly integrate new technology into the classroom. 

Limiting cell phone use

St. Charles County school districts restrict student use of cell phones at school in varying degrees. Francis Howell, Fort Zumwalt and St. Charles school districts are more restrictive than the Wentzville and Orchard Farm school districts. 

Still, school officials concede their effectiveness at barring cell phones or even having them turned off during class time may be about as effective as federal agents barring alcohol distribution during Prohibition.

Brian Smith, the principal of Orchard Farm High School, said students can use their cell phones before school starts at 7:45 a.m., after 2:30 p.m. when school is out, and during their 25-minute lunch period.

“The fact is that hardly a kid doesn’t have a cell phone,” he said.

At Francis Howell, cell phones and other messaging devices--like iPods and CD players--are permitted if approved by a teacher for classroom instruction. Otherwise they have to remain off during school hours. If school officials see them, they can confiscate the items and even search for “improper messages and/or images.”  

The has similar rules.

“We’re pretty strict, they’re not to be used during the school day at all,” said Randal Charles, superintendent of schools. 

But restricting cell phone use may be impossible, he and other school officials say. Charles said technology make restrictions difficult to enforce.

Parents want their children to be able to communicate with them and in most cases that’s laudable, Charles and other school district officials say. 

Help or hindrance?

In September, Some parents kept in touch with their children who happened to have phones with them in the classroom. But few of the students really knew what was happening at the time.

While cell phones are accepted as a reality, emergency responders and security officials still have qualms about their use by students in school. School officials concede the concerns are real. Cell phones do pose a safety threat in some crisis situations, they say. 

“Without a doubt they are,” said Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based, private consulting firm that works with schools in 45 states on security issues and emergency response planning.

Trump generally opposes allowing or encouraging students in school to have cell phones unless they are tightly controlled and used in educational situations. 

“Many school districts are caving into parental pressure,” he said. 

Cell phone use in an emergency can alarm parents to the point that they show up at the scene at the same time fire or police may be trying to evacuate or deal with a crisis situation. 

“Cell phones are a hindrance to emergency responders,” he said. 

Students, parents and others rushing to make calls or get messages out can overload or bog down a cell phone system and render it useless, he said.

Cell phones also can be used to call in bomb and other threats and are difficult to trace, he said.

All of these issues require that schools have a formal and well developed emergency crisis plan, Trump and local school district officials agree. Part of that plan is making sure the school has open lines of communication with parents.

Along with email and other notifications, Henry said Francis Howell is installing a rapid notification system. It is on the few area school districts that doesn’t have one. 

“Principally we know kids are going to be involved in the process,” said Randal Charles. “Rather then try to prevent them; we need to make sure that accurate information gets to parents.” 

Trump said one idea may be explaining to students that adults and school officials are in charge during emergencies and take the lead in communicating information.

“The key part (of the district’s policy) is non-academic electronic devices,” Henry said. “Because technology is becoming so integrated into our curriculum, students are now being allowed to bring their own technology to use in class for academic purposes.”

Charles said schools can configure devices to limit their access to the Internet and inappropriate content. But he acknowledges that cell phones and communications policies may have to change. 

“It has evolved and will continue to evolve,” he said.

Still, the day when the communications revolution has free rein in kindergarten through 12th grade hasn’t arrived. 

“I don’t think we’re really there yet,” Ft. Zumwalt School District Superintendent Bernard DuBray said.