Cell Phones Allowed In School? It Depends

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Tuesday is the first day of school for Philadelphia public school students. Parents may wonder whether their children are allowed to bring cell phones to school.

The short answer is it depends on your school. There's no overarching district ban on cell phones in school. Superintendent William Hite says the decision is made at the school level.

"The ability to make that call is not at the district level," Hite said. "It's at the classroom level with each individual teacher."

And Hite says some teachers actually incorporate cell phone use in class -- with supervision.

"Some are allowing children to use cell phones in very unique ways, to help with assignments and to work as members of groups or teams," Hite said. "Others are prohibiting it because they're feeling like it's too much of a distraction."

Hite says, of course, it is against school policy for students to look up answers during a test, or to cyberbully other students.

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