Board hears committee recommendation to limit student smartphone use during instructional time

The Jefferson Union High School District board on Monday received a committee report recommending that students keep smartphones powered off and put away during instructional time, while allowing individual school sites to explore a full bell-to-bell ban if it suits their communities.

Miss Van Rapphorst, who introduced the agenda item under AB 32 16, said the state law requires districts to adopt a policy by July 1, 2026. The committee — led by Cesar Vega, vice principal of Jefferson High School, and including site administrators, teachers and special-education staff — spent the 2025–26 year surveying stakeholders and reviewing neighboring districts’ approaches.

“I am Cesar Vega, vice principal of Jefferson High School,” Vega told the board during the presentation, and summarized the committee’s outreach. He said staff at four of the district’s five high schools “overwhelmingly support a bell-to-bell ban,” but noted that only a small share of students backed such a ban in the survey: “only 4% of students who responded were in favor of a bell to bell ban.”

Committee members cited research linking stricter in-school phone policies with improved classroom outcomes and described Terra Nova’s pilot of locking pouches (referred to in the presentation as Yondr/Yonder pouches) as showing improved focus and clearer expectations. Presenters described emergency procedures and unlocking stations for pouches and said teachers and security staff have access to unlocking devices.

Maritza Torres, principal at Oceana High School and a committee member, said the panel discussed both the benefits and implementation challenges and ultimately recommended limiting smartphone possession and use during instructional minutes while encouraging schools to consider bell-to-bell approaches where feasible. “We feel a bell to bell ban is what’s best for students,” she said, but added that the formal board redline is written to require phones be put away during instruction and to encourage sites to explore fuller bans.

Board members pressed the committee on equity and practical concerns, including IEP and translator needs, emergency contact access and potential student workarounds such as ‘burner’ phones. Miss Van Rapphorst responded that the redline will include exemptions already mandated by AB 32 16 — for emergencies, authorized staff permission, physician-determined needs and Individualized Education Programs — and that the district would provide funding for pouches if the board adopts a district recommendation.

Trustees also noted different levels of support across school sites. One trustee cited Terra Nova’s first-semester data showing a substantial drop in course failure rates for ninth graders after the pilot, arguing that positive results make a stronger case for site adoption. Other trustees urged posting the redline language before a formal vote; presenters apologized for the redline not being uploaded and said it will be brought back for discussion and placement on the consent agenda at the next regular meeting.

The committee recommended professional development for staff on adolescent smartphone use, site-level policy development within district standards, and procedures to address media created about district stakeholders, including deepfake concerns. The board did not take final action on the policy Monday; members asked for the written redline and plan to consider a two-step process (discussion followed by consent) at the next meeting.