Salt Lake City board weighs cell phone rules after large stakeholder survey

Salt Lake City School District trustees reopened a longtime debate over student cell phones on April 16, after staff presented results from a districtwide survey of more than 9,000 respondents.

The presentation, led by Dr. Tiffany Hall, summarized responses from over 4,000 parents, about 5,000 students and roughly 500 teachers collected from mid-February through March. Hall said the district’s current administrative procedures mirror the Utah State Board of Education’s permissive model policy, which allows schools and teachers discretion over phone use.

The survey found limited classroom phone use at elementary and middle schools but higher instructional use in high schools. Dr. Hall said about 57% of high-school students reported using phones for instructional purposes one to three times a day, while teachers and parents repeatedly raised concerns about inconsistent enforcement across sites.

Board members focused their questions on equity, technology access and enforceability. Board Member Ashley Anderson and others noted that uneven Wi‑Fi coverage and device reliability in some school wings forces students to use phones for classwork; Anderson said policy alone won’t solve infrastructure gaps. Student board member Josiah Evans told trustees that phones became more common after the COVID‑19 era and that convenience (saved passwords, voice‑to‑text) drives student choice.

Several trustees expressed a desire for a middle path. Board Member Brian Jensen said he was not advocating a blanket ban but urged districtwide guardrails so site-level decisions don’t create inequities. General Counsel Christina Kendall and Dr. Hall agreed to bring examples of district policies and suggested a hybrid model. Trustees directed the policy subcommittee to draft recommendations, including parameters to reduce cross‑school inconsistency while respecting legitimate safety and instructional exceptions.

The board did not vote on specific policy language. Superintendent Grant and staff said they would coordinate a follow‑up process with school leaders, PTA groups and student representation so the policy committee can return a proposal for further discussion.