Parents frustrated with extended cellphone policy at Birmingham Public School District

The Birmingham Public School District board is adding on to a cellphone policy, and some parents are not happy about it.

The new policy calls for no use of technology between classes or during lunch. Parents piled in at Tuesday's board meeting to voice their concerns or support the new bell-to-bell cell phone ban.

The district already bans the use of personal technology in the classroom. This complies with state law, which bans cell phones, AirPods and any wireless devices.

But this district is choosing to extend the policy prohibiting technology between classes and during lunch, which some parents are not happy about. Some parents feel a child's ability to use their phones should be a parent's decision, not a board's.

"How do I tell my rising senior that has a job and responsibility, I trust the fact you will be on your phone for 10 months, but don't trust that you will put your phone during lunch hour," said one mother of a high school senior.

Some questioned whether the board was pushing this policy forward without parents' input. Additional discussions, they say, are not happening, and the policy was voted on during the July meeting, which some parents say typically has low turnout.

But not all parents felt this way.

"We are so lucky to have amazing educators in Birmingham, and we need to get rid of the distractions so they can do their job," said a communications associate professor from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

The professor shared a letter from a teacher who said that technology, such as earbuds, divides students from the classroom. And she wasn't alone in believing cell phones only hurt students.

"Our kids, Michigan, are in the bottom quartile. When it comes to test scores, and Birmingham didn't even place in the top 10, and we pay some of the highest taxes, it's embarrassing," said one mother.

Superintendent Embekka Roberson told CBS News Detroit the new policy will go into effect on the first day of school, which is Monday, Aug. 31.