Prohibiting cell phones in schools is about to become a reality statewide, but Tallassee City Schools have been ahead of the curve for years.
Freeing our Classrooms of Unnecessary Screens for Safety (FOCUS) Act has passed in the House and Senate and is awaiting the governor’s signature, as of Friday. It technically bans the use of all wireless electronic communication devices, such as iPads, tablets, pagers, smartwatches, laptops and cell phones —- unless these devices are being used for educational instructional purposes.
This school year, Tallassee City Schools implemented the Yondr pouches to help keep cell phones away from students during the school day. Under the school’s board policy, the cell phone must be off and put away, which can include in a bookbag.
“The pouches are just a tool that allow teachers to help manage it while in the classroom,” superintendent Dr. Brock Nolin said.
Under the new FOCUS act, Tallassee will return to no pouches and will keep cell phones off and out of the classrooms, stored in student lockers or cars. The act does allow some exceptions such as students under an Individualized Education Program, Individualized Accommodation Plan, Section 504 plan, or Individualized Health Plan.
The act also notes a student cannot have a cell phone during an instructional day, which includes times like lunch, class transition and other non-instructional times during the school day.
Nolin said they have had their cell phone policy in place for years and it’s especially important now because, with social media, students are getting notifications much more frequently than they did even just 10 years ago.
“(Cell phones) are a distraction, even for adults and myself included,” Nolin said. “If you are inside of a classroom, our focus as humans nowadays is very short — 20 minutes or so according to some research. And you expect a child to sit in a class that’s 50 minutes to an hour long and be fully engaged, so any kind of distraction is really a deterrent to learning.”
Nolin said the reason they implemented Yondr pouches was because students could have cellphones in their backpacks and sometimes would grab their phone while the teacher had their back turned. But under the new act, this won’t be as much of a concern since students won’t even have cell phones in the classroom — aside from the specified circumstances within the law.
As with implementing any type of new legislation, Nolin said he suspects there will be some growing pains, but once students get used to the expectations it will smooth itself out.
Overall, Nolin said the cell phone policy being statewide now gives Tallassee City Schools a little more teeth since it’s not just a local policy. However, the board will still be revising the school’s policy so that it complies with the FOCUS act.
The FOCUS act also has an Internet safety policy to adopt, and students will be expected to complete a social media safety course before the eighth grade.
The act is expected to go into effect July 1, 2025, for the policy to be implemented statewide starting the 2025-2026 school year.