In Focus: Students go without cellphones ahead of school year in News On 6 experiment

Kids across Oklahoma are back in class, but this year their phones are not.

A new state law bans the use of cellphones at all public schools during the school day.

There is a sign of the times at Jenks' Freshman Academy, where students won’t miss the message: "Bell to Bell, No Cell."

In this “Oklahoma's Own In Focus,” News On 6 looks at why many school leaders and some parents are welcoming this change.

Plus, what districts are doing to enforce the new measure.

And see what happens when three teenagers give up their phones for three whole days, and what they learned while disconnecting.

No Phone Zone: A News On 6 Experiment 

Before school started, we put a group of teens to the test. Could they live without their phones for three days?

News On 6's Tatum Guinn found out.

This generation of children will never know what it’s like to not have a device. But maybe all of that connection has caused a real disconnect.

We wanted to see what would happen when teenagers really unplug.

Coweta Junior Elise Graves, Broken Arrow Junior Zylar Redner and Jenks Freshman Ezra Young agreed to give up their cellphones for three days.

TATUM: “We’re locking your phone up for a few days. Are you ready?”

EZRA: “I’m ready.”

TATUM: “How’re you feeling?”

ZYLAR: “Uh…sad.”

TATUM: “Final text, what did it say?”

ELISE: “I’ll miss you guys.”

Their phones spent the next three days in our “phone jail,” and were turned off. They went without texting, FaceTime or checking their favorite apps.

“I think I got this, but I’m a little nervous,” Elise said. “I tend to pick it up and check every couple of seconds.”

One day in, we noticed the teens were finding other ways to spend their time. 

“I definitely feel like I’m more observant of everywhere and I’ve been… spending a lot more time with my family and getting closer with them these past couple days,” Elise said.

Ezra and Zylar were freed up to help out around the house and spend quality time with their families.

“Actually, I was reading a book earlier, the ACOTAR, I helped my mom make dinner, and we’ll watch movies, go outside and play with the dogs,” Ezra said.

“It’s something to do when there’s not much else to do. Like, when you’re not on your phone, you can do a lot of work and housework,” Zylar said.

It wasn’t all work for Zylar; he carved out time to cool off in the pool, too.

Three days later, the students came back to News On 6 for their phones, and the teens were locked in again.

There was a lot of virtual catching up to do. Zylar returned to 56 text messages.

Parents’ Reactions

The students’ parents savored the three days of catching up, though theirs was face-to-face.

“Right after she had her phone taken away, we got in the car, and she was like, ‘It’s so weird; I can’t play my music,’ and she grabbed my hand. We just held hands and I was like, ‘Enjoy it while it lasts,’” Ezra’s mom, Heather, said.

The parents observed that without the distraction of a device, they were more engaged and more productive.

“I had intended to make a compilation of ‘I’m bored. I’m bored. I’m bored,’ but it didn’t happen,” Heather said.

“I was like, ‘Who is this kid?’” Nicole, Zyler’s mom, said. "He was just more into conversation, and I got to actually talk to him. Because right now we're at the stage of, 'I don't want to talk about my day,' and without his phone, he was more, 'So what'd you do today, mom?' And I miss that."

Going into the new school year, Elise’s dad, who happens to be a principal with Coweta Public Schools, expects students to see positive changes.

"I think they're gonna start interacting more,” Coy said. “They're probably gonna get more friends. They're gonna learn more people that have a lot more in common with them. I think it's gonna help them communicate in the future, because socially it's hard for students; they don't have the skills to talk back and forth with somebody."

After three days without their phones, the students learned there is a lot you can do with your time when you put the phone down and look up.

State Law in Effect

State Senator Ally Seifried from Claremore authored the "Bell to Bell, No Cell" legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt in May.

It requires all public school districts in the state to limit student phone use during the entire school day this year.

After this year, districts will be free to adjust cellphone policies as they see fit,

Schools can make exceptions for emergencies and students with medical issues.

Enforcement

The law leaves enforcement of the new phone rules up to districts. For many, the biggest change is at high schools, where students can no longer use phones outside of class time.

Tulsa Public Schools already had a "bell-to-bell" rule in place at elementary and middle schools.

Leaders say they expect students will adapt to the restrictions, but staff are ready for anything.

"You get a warning, and then you might get what we call an incident log, where somebody marks an incident. And if you're in a high school, that could mean the dean comes down and says, 'What? You can't have your cellphone in class.' Right? It could mean like, 'I'm going to have to collect your phone. You won't put it away,” Stephanie Andrews with TPS said.

A Superintendent’s Perspective 

Before this was signed into law, many districts were already considering stricter cellphone rules.

Bixby implemented a similar rule last school year, which was praised by the governor in his State of the State address.

Bartlesville Superintendent Chuck McCauley says district leaders have been studying the topic for more than a year. He even hosted book studies with the community. McCauley hopes the new rule will prepare kids for life outside of school.

"I think it teaches some bad habits. You know, if I don't like something, I can just turn that off...where in the real world, you know, if you're working with someone and maybe you don't like them, but you have to learn to work with them,” McCauley said.

Exclusive Survey Results

News On 6 surveyed more than 500 teachers and found that most think phones are having a negative impact on student performance and mental health.

About 60 percent of those surveyed say smartphones are used to cheat, and 89 percent say they distract from coursework.

Bartlesville High School math teacher Leslee Kramer is starting her 18th year in the classroom. She's seen the negative effects firsthand.

"They can scroll through things very quickly, and for them to sit and absorb a full lesson, there's an attention span change that needs to happen,” Kramer said. "I think when we remove that from a big chunk of their day, we're going to see that anxiety go down and that depression balance out better."

On the subject of mental health, more than 70 percent say phones are making students more anxious.

Almost 80 percent of those who took the survey say phones increase bullying and conflict.

For a complete look at our survey results, click here.

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