This year, teachers have been enforcing the phone policy. Last year, the phone policy was barely put into effect, and this year some teachers are pushing the policy.

“I believe we should follow a uniform phone policy for all classes.” Spanish teacher Frank Espinoza said.

Some teachers like the policy, while other teachers do not.

“I think it’s good,” business teacher Cindy Gillespie said. “I like how it is now because I don’t think there need to be any phones at all.”

However, this new enforcement of the phone policy did not come out of nowhere, principal Rick Rivera decided to enforce the policy to help students learn.

“One of the things that we noticed last year was an increase in the amount of phone usage in the classroom that wasn’t for educational purposes, and at a Principal’s Advisory Council, somebody just said, ‘Why don’t we just enforce the policy that’s in the handbook’,” Rivera said.

With the phone policy stated in the handbook, staff would try and enforce it.

“I think our cell phones are great tools. They give us a lot of access to information, which I think is great, but they’re also great distractors, and great disruptors of learning,” Rivera said. “The hope is that when students are in the classroom, they’re focusing on what they’re supposed to be doing in class, which is learning.”

While the goal of the policy is to help students be better focused on learning, some students have mixed opinions.

“I dislike the phone policy because I would like to be able to check the time without feeling like I’m going to lose my phone,” sophomore Kabren Wetzel said. “I dislike having to put my phone in my backpack for some classes. because some classes don’t have working clocks, and my only source of checking the time is my phone.”

While some students have a negative opinion on the policy, some students find it reasonable.

“I think it’s understandable to enforce the phone policy, because last year everyone was on their phones all the time,” senior Alex Schmidt said.

“The handbook doesn’t necessarily prohibit phones in the classroom, but they need to be for an educational purpose, which is determined by the teacher, so that’s one of the things that we want to make sure that that’s happening.” Rivera said, “I think the handbook balances the reality of technology we have with the need to have structure in our classrooms. So, it doesn’t eliminate the use of cell phones, it just gives direction on how cellphones should be used in the classroom.”