Arkansas school districts pushing forward with implementing phone-free campuses

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A new effort by the office of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Education is aiming to create phone-free campuses.

According to the ADE, more than 200 districts expressed interest in the phone-free pilot program. Officials said the number of districts using this new tool is expected to fluctuate, as some agreed to participate, some said no and some districts are checking with their local boards about participation.

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Amid this effort, the Russellville School District voted Tuesday to use a new tool to keep their campuses phone-free.

Russellville Junior High assistant principal Sara Walker said they’re on board to do what they can to keep their students safe.

“Our current policy is that students aren’t allowed to have their cell phone unless it’s for an educational purpose, however, we all know it’s a temptation,” Walker said. “If you have it near you to get on it, it’s kind of hard to enforce, even though teachers and administrators do their best to do that.”

The board voted to purchase new pouches for phones for grades 5 through 12 that will stay locked away so students can focus on their class work. Officials said the district will be reimbursed for the purchase by the state.

The governor’s plan to keep cell phones out of students’ hands is by putting them into a pouch they’ll have with them throughout the day, but this pouch made by Yondr doesn’t simply just zip up.

“There is a locking mechanism at the very top, it’s got a pin and a magnetic closure and so when the students close it, it will automatically lock and they cannot open it without an unlocking mechanism,” Walker said.

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Unlocking stations will be throughout the school but will only be available at the end of the day, there will also be some handheld unlocking devices. Teachers and administrators will be the only ones with the mechanism to unlock the pouches.

The school board said it will not pass out the pouches until they have a better-written policy for everyone to see and understand first.

Walker said they had meetings with stakeholders and concerns were brought up like how to contact kids throughout the day, which Walker said will be through the front office.

Another concern was what if someone accidentally takes home their pouch without unlocking it. This is something they’re working through.

Parents were present at the meeting on Tuesday night who wanted to speak but didn’t follow the proper policies to address the board, so they weren’t allowed to speak on this.

According to the school district, the total cost to purchase is more than $124,000, which they said will be reimbursed by the state.

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District officials said the pouches will not be in by the time school starts on Monday.

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