With the recent banning of cell phones in LCPS, students struggle with their new reality and wonder — does it have to be this way?

    In June, Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin stated that throughout the state of Virginia, “Cell phones and earbuds must be silenced and put away during all instructional periods unless a special circumstance exists and there is a documented accommodation” — cue students everywhere groaning and rolling their eyes.

    Last year, Florida became the first state in the U.S. to really crack down on students’ cell phone usage during school hours, with a positive turn out from students and less behavioral incidents according to Tallahassee Reports. 

    It did not take long for states like Indiana and Idaho to quickly follow suit. As of now, The National Center for Education Statistics has put out a report stating that “76% of the U.S. have taken away the usage of cell phones in public schools.”

    As the world increasingly becomes more digitized, cell phones provide students the ability to efficiently access information and remain connected with their peers. Students cannot help but scoff at these policies; is this really going to last?

    The removal of smartphones in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) classrooms offer major pros and cons that continue to swing the pendulum of students’ feelings about the bans. 

    One possible pro about the phone ban on LCPS is it could academically benefit students’ performance in class and produce higher test scores. A study done by Thomas B. Fordham Institute showed that girls made drastic increases in their GPA and externally graded math exams without smartphones in class.

    But how else will the ban affect schools?

    An opinion piece about the hypothetical pros and cons of a phone ban by Schneide Solutions titled “Advantages and Disadvantages of Banning Cellphones in Educational Institutions” stated that teachers and government officials argue that the reduction of smart devices will reduce students’ dependence on technology, enhance their critical thinking skills and problem solving abilities. It will also discourage students from cheating and enhance students’ engagement in class. 

    However, students will seemingly do anything to entertain themselves in class whether it be games on their chromebook or sneaking their headphones in class. Teenagers will not lose their dependency on technology just because their easiest access to it is taken away for seven hours of the day.

    Students argue that the ban will limit access to learning resources that have been banned on the school issued chromebooks although anecdotally no specific sites have been named. Teachers now have the ability to see what students are doing on their Chromebooks and block whatever it is they may be doing via the LightSpeed website. 

    Students also worry that the loss of their smartphones will result in feeling isolated from peers. Of course, they could just talk to one of the 20 students in their classroom, but many students are separated from their friends during school hours due to differences in schedules.

    Similar to the bathroom locking incident during late November of last year, students think this will not be enforced for the entire year. It is important to note that the bathrooms being locked was always meant to be temporary while the phone ban is meant to be permanent. Many students believe, or perhaps just hope, that this policy will end regardless. 

    Florida was the first U.S state to enact the ban, but at some schools, it is allegedly fading away.

    Haden Johnsen, a student attending Beachside High School in St. Augustine Florida states that for him, “the phone ban had only lasted for a little over a year. After that, teachers kept forgetting to remind us that we needed to put our phones away, and most of us aren’t even asked about it when we take them out.”

    So how can students in other states be expected to take the ban seriously when the first state to even enforce this ban is already giving up on it?

    Will PFHS be similar to Beachside? Will the ban quickly fade away or should students start getting used to it? How long is this going to last?