Denver Public Schools considering banning cellphones during school hours

Denver Public Schools is now considering a bell-to-bell policy, which would mean students wouldn't be able to use their cellphones, not even during passing periods and lunch. It would also include other personal devices such as laptops, smartwatches, and wireless earbuds to prevent students from working around the phone ban.

All Colorado school districts must establish their own cellphone policies according to law.

"We all just realized, once you know better, you need to do better," said Sarah Almy Moore, a DPS parent and a member of the Communication Devices Advisory Committee tasked with creating the cellphone policy recommendation for the school board.

"We heard from a lot of different people," she said.

The committee spoke with and heard from hundreds of students, teachers, parents, and even members of the school safety team when doing the research.

"There's 17 states that have implemented a bell-to-bell ban on devices," Almy Moore said. "So this is not like a groundbreaking thing. And what you hear from principals and others in schools that have done this is kids are talking to each other again at lunch."

The board has since launched a public survey asking for more community feedback. They say the response is the largest they've ever had.

"The data team will present to us the results of that," school board member Marlene De La Rosa said. "They will break it down for us, and we will see if there needs to be amendments."

Initial feedback includes concerns about safety — students and their parents want to be able to communicate in the event of an emergency.

"When there has been some kind of, like false alarm, really, but at one of my daughter's schools, they will text," Almy Moore said. "I know that this is a reality for people."

But she says the School Safety Team told the committee phones could do more harm than good in those situations.

"It could actually inadvertently make a situation worse," she added. "We just have to think about whether we want it as a convenience or as a security blanket for either us or our kids, and what is really best for our kids."

The committee also considered the effect that phones and social media can have on mental health.

Parents and students will have the chance to weigh in by taking the survey until May 15. The board is expected to have its final vote on the policy in June.