The mobile phone ban in Los Angeles’ unified school district (covering about 800 schools) came into effect, causing a mix of reactions, but no reports of major issues.
“I think it’s a good thing for everyone’s education,” said Kaya Tejano, an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Walter Reed High School. “They should focus more on learning and lessons than mobile phones.”
Los Angeles Unification is the second largest school system in the United States, and is not the first to take this step, but it is heading towards a two-party or even two-person lead. International avalanche.
Mobile phone ban It is also suitable for smartwatches and any device that can send messages, answer calls, or scroll the Internet. Mobile phones can be used on buses but are not allowed during lunch or breaks. Each campus decides whether to use the Honors system or, if not, how to store or lock the device.
The consequences of the violation have not been clearly stated, but the ban is broader and takes effect faster than the California Telephone-free Schools Act deadline. Under the law, the state’s 1,000 school districts, charter schools and county education departments must draft student cell phone policies by July 1, 2026 — administrators can choose to limit rather than prohibit the use of cell phones altogether, such as LA Unified .
As of Tuesday afternoon, Los Angeles School Board Chairman Scott Schmerelson said he had received only four recent emails expressing concerns – showing him that most parents even if some people have concerns They are all appearing.
“They understand – students shouldn’t turn on the phone,” Schmereson said. “They shouldn’t interrupt the teacher’s lesson, but they’re worried about safety. They always mention school shootings. They always mention lockdown. They always say It’s about emergency situations. That’s what bothered them.”
As of noon Tuesday, Maria Nichols, the head of the union representing the principal, said she had not heard any complaints related to the new provisions for membership.
All schools are ready, Los Angeles School says. The ban administered by Alberto Carvalho has been pushed back to the second semester, before things can be established a few weeks away.
Entering the weekend, there have been about 70 campuses that have observed bans – some of which have begun in recent weeks. Some have been in place for several years.
Carvalho said in an interview that the student union said to him: “‘I didn’t like the idea at first. It was hard for me, but now, it’s been a few weeks – for schools that have already started to implement it – I’m happy with that. I feel like I can focus and actually play more. ‘”
He added: “The teachers I spoke to gave it a high score because they thought the school’s distraction levels would be reduced.”
This is what Kaya observed, more or less.
Before the ban, “People would walk around on their phones during nutrition or lunch hours, and some would be during class hours.” She said some people were chatting in class on Tuesday, and maybe without their phones to keep quiet.
Not everyone is moving forward. When Kaya entered Walter Reed, she walked past two adults and shouted at the principal, advising students: “Do you feel safe? You shouldn’t give your phone to these people.”
According to Walter Reed’s eighth grader, at least one student rebelled, resulting in the confiscation of phone calls during physical education. He said before the ban, he noticed that as he got older, his classmates were using their cell phones more and more during school hours. He did the same, but the teacher allowed it only after the teacher finished the class.
This is not a Tuesday option. A student brought a card.
According to Reed students, some students tried to break the magnetic bag that opened their phones. Several students allegedly lied – wrongly claiming they had no phone calls – but the vast majority followed.
Kaya’s mother, Jessica Kelly, serves as president of the school’s support group Friends of Reed. She knows that most parents support the ban.
“As a volunteer on a middle school campus two to three times a week, that’s a serious problem,” Kelly said. “The kids are in class and encountering people because their phones are fascinating them.
“The cell phone is ringing/buzzing, ruining class time,” she said. “Some kids also have the most inappropriate ringtones. Children play games on their watches instead of learning. Children are destined to roll during lunch, and Not dating peers. This addiction is real.”
She added: “Honestly, parents are just as bad. So many parents are texting/calling their kids during the day. Can parents not talk to their kids for six hours?”
But Meghan Gohil, the parent of a ninth-grade student at Sherman Oaks’ Center for Rich Research, said the area is reducing learning tools.
She said that in music class, her son used his mobile phone to “record himself, listen to music, and it was also a metronome.” In science class, students recorded the experimental results of pictures. To attract notes, students take photos of the slideshow. Her son was “negatively affected by the cell phone ban,” she said.
The ban covers about 800 schools; adult education and early education are tax-free. About half of schools choose to use the honors system. The phone is expected to be turned off and closed. Carvalho said the rest was using magnetic bags, and students locked their phones when they arrived on campus. The other half uses another system – for example, putting your phone in a locker or trash can.
For Faith Perrod, the success of the day was that she was allowed to keep her phone without any hassle. Faith is also a sixth-grade student at Reed, with hearing aids and cochlear implants. She was exempted from medical exemption because she could not hear the announcement and was also difficult to understand the instructions in noisy or chaotic situations such as school emergencies.
Her phone has an audio transcriptionist, which she can also use to adjust her hearing device.
Carvalho noted that some students use their cell phones to monitor medical conditions. Some students who are learning English use their mobile phones to translate.
Carvalho said that based on the experience of early adopters, there is a transition period that lasts “about a few weeks, they have to keep reminding the child and then become a learning behavior. Where you do it for 20 to 21 days, it becomes you part of the norm. I think we’ll see.”
