Is the New Statewide School Phone Policy Effective?

Océanos y dados, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The new Florida phone policy has been put into action at all Florida high schools.

Before the new school year began, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in May 2023 in hopes that phones would be less of an issue in high schools all around Florida. Many different students and parents have varying opinions on the policy and its benefits.

Students such as Adrien Medine, a senior student-athlete at Mandarin High School, and Mariah Willie, a sophomore at Riverside High School shared their thoughts about the cell phone policy being enforced at their school.

“Mandarin is very strict about the phone policy,” Medine exclaimed, reflecting on how their school keeps the rules in place. “Phones are included in violating dress code, our patrol team checks for identification and phones.”  

Mandarin is a well-known school all around Florida, mostly for its sports.  Some may say the phone policy helps them stay focused on school and sports during the day.

Students at other schools such as Riverside High School are conflicted about the new phone policy.

“I really don’t like the policy but at times I feel as though it’s beneficial to my learning,” Willie explained.

At Riverside, school administration sends emails, puts up posters, and reminds students every period to put their phones away.

Some parents feel differently, as they notice more cons in the policy.

“I feel like my child deserves and needs her phone throughout the school day,” parent Tiffany Gray said. “It isn’t out of the ordinary that parents want to be able to contact their children throughout the day. It’s a top priority for most parents. What if there’s an emergency and she just doesn’t have her phone on her person to contact me?”

Although the phone policy was set to help in schools, it also has its drawbacks.

“Being normal kids, like kids were prior to social media, is important,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an article for Action News Jax. “Social media (causes) more problems than it solves, and I think it causes more harm than good.”

DeSantis sees phones as a problem because social media is on the majority of kids’ phones, which can be distracting in schools.

“So, let’s have our education system be as much about traditional education as we can,” DeSantis said.