As all CHS students are aware, the rules about cellphones have tightened this year. Many believe it is just the principal being mean… but that is not the case at all. Our principal, Mr. David Hiebner, gave some great insight on why the policy has changed and the effects it has had on his school.
I spoke with Hiebner about the changes to the phone policy for this year. He pointed out that nothing has changed inside our school’s policy this year, except the severity of the consequences. The policy is now a state law: all Nebraska public school districts must have a phone policy in place. This was not the case beforehand, so the consequences for using your phone during school were less severe. Now, the policy is doubling down on making sure students are not using their phones in the classroom and are penalized if they are caught on them.
After we talked about the policy changes, we spoke about the effects. With the policy being much stricter and the consequences much larger, you would believe that students would follow the rules and there would be fewer office referrals, right? WRONG! When I suggested that rates of student referrals had decreased with the restrictions, Hiebner explained that, “The interactions seem to be about the same as previous years, but students and staff are now aware that it is a state law and Columbus Public Schools Board of Education policy.”
The last question I asked Hiebner was regarding his personal feelings about the phone policy. His response was so perfect that I won’t even paraphrase it. He stated, “I feel like the policy is a good start. Cell phones and technology are a proven distraction for students. There are multiple states that have outlawed cell phones in school altogether. An all-out ban is not where we are currently, but if phones continue to be a distraction, I believe that there are school districts throughout Nebraska that could move to a cell phone ban.”
Overall, while the phone policy has not changed much from previous years, it has had a huge impact on the school district and its students!
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