LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In an effort to minimize distractions and help kids focus, the Clark County School District plans to roll out the use of signal-blocking cell phone pouches this upcoming school year. Forty schools across the district piloted the program last spring.
The goal is to prevent middle and high school students from using their phones while class is in session — but the initiative has sparked quite a bit of controversy and backlash among students and parents alike.
“We really had no idea that this was coming, at least in our school,” said Charlize Leary, an incoming CCSD freshman who created an online petition after hearing about the proposed policy.
“One of the first things that came to mind was ‘How am I going to be able to access my parents? What if emergency services are required?” Leary said.
Safety appears to be one of the biggest concerns for the nearly 13,000 people who have signed the online petition.
“I am definitely on the side of kids not having free access to their phones during school — like they shouldn’t be texting or on social media, but I do believe there are better ways to combat this issue, for sure,” Leary said.
Channel 13 has covered numerous incidents where schools have been placed on lockdown, causing panic for students and parents alike. The worry is, what could happen if communication is cut off in an emergency?
Assistant superintendent for the Clark County School District, Kevin McPartlin, addressed some of those concerns in a virtual town hall, stating there’s no stopping the roll out from starting.
“This is definitely happening. The cell phone bags have already been purchased. We've listened to our community and the parents and the big thing was ‘I need to get access to my kids in an emergency,’ and so that’s why we didn’t do what many other districts have done like a full cell phone ban,” McPartlin said.
McPartlin also explained how the pouches would work.
“Students who enter the classroom put their phone in the signal-blocking pouch, and it stays with them at their desk,” he said.
Students would also be required to put their phone on airplane mode — and some have already thought of potential loopholes to the policy.
“Kids happen to have a second phone or they can purchase an old phone that is broken or that barely turns on, and they can put that in the pouch instead of the real phones,” Leary said.
“We are educators. We know kids, and we know for every policy, there’s going to be work around it that we’re going to have to deal with,” McPartlin said.
CCSD officials say the pouches will be reachable in case of an emergency, and students would still be allowed to use their phones at lunch time.
Channel 13 inquired about how much the signal blocking pouches cost the district. CCSD officials responded to our request saying:
"The District ordered 282,935 pouches, each costing $9, for an approximate total of $2.6 million. This purchase was funded by the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)."
The signal-blocking pouches are not the only safety guideline going into effect this upcoming school year.
Middle and high school students will also be required to wear an identification card on a lanyard. The card will contain important information about SafeVoice, an anonymous reporting system used to report threats to the safety of students.
