Problem Solvers: The Digital Divide and the call to ease screen addiction among students

Update: adding part 2 video

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Scrolling, streaming, a constant buzz, and endless distraction. Cell phones have found a permanent place in students' pockets. Right now, there is a bill moving through the Oregon Legislature -- sponsored by Bend State Representative Emerson Levy that would prohibit students from having access to cell phones and other mobile devices in the classroom.

The aim of the bill, Levy said, "is to get our reading and math scores back up, and we're trying to address the mental health crisis."

A mental health counselor, professor of psychology and addiction studies at COCC, and parent with students in Bend-La Pine schools, Dr. Sean Roberts claims to also see the negative impacts of phone use in schools.

“I think the science is abundantly clear," said Dr. Roberts. ”What we do know is that in the last 15, 20 years, we've seen some dramatic increases in mental health struggles for, children and teenagers. And that correlates with the introduction of phones”

On child development, Dr. Roberts said “we grow these kind of superhighways though repeated experience. We also cut back the pathways that we don't use. So when a kid is overusing technology, they're creating these superhighways for the for that one behavior at the expense of creating this diverse, rich, neural pathways,”

KTVZ, in collaboration with the Source Weekly, interviewed parents, students, teachers, and school administrators to gain an understanding of the perspectives on the issue.

Redmond High School Junior, Eden Anspach, said "I think that a lot of students would definitely be against it for sure. I think they would understand that there needs to be something done, but not to that extent."

Another student of Redmond High, junior Bradley Owens said, "there's bad apples I think that make it look bad for everybody."

Though students have admitted issues with phone usage in school, Redmond High junior, Aiden Carpenter depends on his phone, saying, "I need my phone for college and work, and so I do need my phone throughout the day, but I understand when I should and shouldn't be on it and when my teacher wants my attention."

Matthew Draxton shared Part 1 of the Digital Divide video story on KTVZ News at 11 on Thursdasy and Part 2 will air on Sunday on KTVZ News at 11.

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The Source Weekly: A Call to Ease Screen Addiction Among Students

A bill moving through the legislature, HB 2251, could further restrict student cellphone use in public schools.

Written By Julianna LaFollette, Source Weekly in collaboration with Matthew Draxton, KTVZ

BEND, Ore. (the Source Weekly). -- A bill in the Oregon legislature aims to restrict the use of cell phones in public schools statewide. The bipartisan bill aims to cut down on student distractions, social media incidents and other challenges schools are grappling with in an age of cell phone addiction.

While Central Oregon school districts already have policies in place that limit the use of electronic devices during the school day, the bill, House Bill 2251, would strengthen those rules, directing school districts to adopt their own policy that "prohibits the use of student personal electronic devices" in schools.

"This is an opportunity to make sure our kids are focused, but also that our teachers feel backed up – that they are not the enforcers, that this is the rule," said Rep. Emerson Levy (D-OR 53) a sponsor of the bill.

A push for more focused students

In recent years, mental health experts have warned of the negative impacts that come with a new age of technology. With a stark rise in social media use, and with kids gaining access to technology at a younger age, schools and parents are searching for ways to limit the distractions these devices have on people, particularly adolescents.

"What I've learned in this process is our kids that have cellphones during the day receive between 100 to 200 notifications a day, and that is a lot of distraction," Levy told the Source. "How are we supposed to learn with that?"

HB 2251 passed in the Oregon House in early April and is working its way through the Senate.

According to Scott Maben, director of communications at Bend-La Pine Schools, teachers have seen more technology in the hands of students in recent years, with more families permitting their kids to have phones at earlier ages.

Aside from the distractions to learning, schools have noted a rise in cyber bullying and discipline issues, along with shortened attention spans, according to mom Ami Formica, who helped start a local initiative to address student technology use.

Formica, along with fellow parent Brooke Mues, formed the group Well Wired about a year and a half ago to educate and find community among parents and kids struggling with technology. While their initial goal was to discuss the problems associated with phone addiction among adolescents, their mission began to shift after hearing from local parents and school staff members.

"I think that, as a culture, we're all trying to figure out what are the healthy limits for the personal devices that we have, and how we find those limits and boundaries in schools," said Formica.

Many of the parents who connected with their message, Formica said, want schools to start setting an example around using technology in a healthier way. This bill could provide that.

"When the House bill was first proposed, we were so happy," Formica told the Source. "Now, our goal is really to continue to keep that momentum going, because we think it's in the best interest of our kids and families."

Well Wired is hoping that heightened restrictions around cellphone use will help address other issues, such as mental health problems associated with cellphone addiction. Some teachers agree.

"We know the damage it's doing – the shortened attention span, the lack of critical thinking skills, the increase in anxiety, depression, cyber bullying, the list goes on and on. All of that can be attributed to this constant access to phones, and it just doesn't need to be that way during the school day," said Virginia Johnson, a teacher at Redmond High School.

Sean Keating, the principal of Bend's Pacific Crest Middle School, has seen the effects of phones firsthand and believes a statewide policy would help students and teachers become more engaged.

"There's just a pull to looking at your cellphone, with the social media — the games, text messages, all of it just distracts your attention away from learning, away from your teachers, away from engaging with your peers," said Keating.

A top-down policy

Local districts, including BLPS, have started developing more restrictive policies over the past three years, according to Maben. In the last year, the district has formalized its policies and is reporting success in its implementation.

"That's an acknowledgement that cellphones can be a real source of distraction or disruption to the learning that we're seeing in our classrooms," Maben said.

While the overarching policy at BLPS states that phones must be off or silent and away during class periods, the rules slightly differ for elementary, middle and high school students.

Up through middle school, the policy requires that phones are away, stored in lockers, from the morning bell to the end of the day. According to Keating, students have responded well to the policy, and it's showing in the school.

"The big thing we're seeing is that students are not concerned so much with social media, especially the harassment that happens on social media here during the school day. If there is social media stuff going on, it's after school, it's not here," Keating said. "Students can focus more on being kids, being students and learning."

The high school policy at BLPS is slightly modified, giving students more access outside of class time.

According to Maben, the district allows high school students to access their phones during passing periods and lunch. The decision, he said, stems from hoping older students have learned skills for managing technology, while understanding they are taking on more responsibilities and obligations.

While Levy's bill, if passed, wouldn't change much for elementary or middle school students, Maben said the district would most likely need to change its practices at the high school level.

Since older students are preparing for life after high school, Maben said many have legitimate reasons to check their phones: jobs, volunteer work, college applications and scholarships. He believes an all-out prohibition on access to cellphones would be a difficult transition at the high school level.

One local high school principal has questions about what this bill could mean for those getting ready to enter adulthood.

"I wonder at what point students are allowed the opportunity to manage their own behaviors. As they approach adulthood, how do we start to let go of the controls so that they can learn how to navigate time and place and self-manage? It's an important skill for college, career and life," said Donna Servignat, Summit High School's principal.

If the bill passes, BLPS will likely need to design a system that ensures students don't have the ability to check their phones, Maben said, or schools would need a robust system of enforcing it.

"That's where we're hearing some concerns and questions from our high school principals," Maben said. "What is it going to take, what kind of resources and logistics and cost is there to enforcing a change like that from what has been our practice the last few years?"

Bend Rep. Jason Kropf (D-OR 54) is supportive of the current BLPS policy and sees local control as a more successful approach for handling student cellphone policy. Kropf, who voted against HB 2251, said he sees the purpose of the bill, but feels that districts should be free to do what's right for their areas.

"I think school districts should be looking into these and adopting policies that work for their communities," he told the Source. "I think this should be a responsibility of the local school boards to figure out their policies, like our school district has."

Independence vs engagement

While students we talked to acknowledge that cellphones can impact learning, they don't believe this bill is the answer.

Aiden Carpenter, a junior at Redmond High School, admits that phones may be a distraction for some students, but said those distractions will likely continue even if phones are taken away. It's hard for some students to pay attention, he said, regardless of whether they're on their phone or not.

While Carpenter said he personally needs to check his phone throughout the day for college and work, he understands when he shouldn't be on it. Instead of restricting use throughout the entire school day, he believes phones should be used as a tool in schools.

Another junior at Redmond High School, Eden Anspach, agrees, noting that technology isn't going away.

"The future for us is technology. I think that the quicker we learn to figure out how to use technology for the better, it will be more efficient for us in the future," she said. "I know there's an issue, but I think there's different ways to go about it."

According to Anspach, students at their age should be able to have some freedom when it comes to their choices. The possibility of getting reprimanded or in trouble for having their phones out can create a sense of responsibility.

"I think the room for error and the room for punishment creates independence. It creates something you will need when you leave high school, because when you leave high school, you do have the choice to go on your phone. You're not going to have to keep it locked up," she said.

While teachers said many students are able to recognize the impacts of cellphone use, the distraction still exists.

Redmond School District's current policy is that phones should be off and away during class time.

"Teachers are exhausted. I can't speak for everyone, but the ones I talk to, they're exhausted. It's a constant battle, constantly having to police the phones," said Johnson with Redmond High School.

According to Johnson, it's become a challenge for teachers to be the main enforcers of these policies.

Levy recognized these issues and sees that as a key reason for statewide legislation.

"It just makes a really challenging dynamic for a teacher to have to be the administrator, the enforcer, or just be the teacher that's a buzz kill, that doesn't allow the phones in their classroom. I think that's a really important part of the uniform policy," Levy said.

While school districts have policies that are expected to be followed in each classroom, school staff members say the specific rules around phones may differ from one class to the next. Another Redmond High School teacher, Cindy Baumgartner, believes HB 2251 would help level the playing field.

"It just gives the foundation for everybody to do the same thing within their classroom... Some teachers may be a little more lax on it than others, and then you become bad teacher, or you become the strict teacher just because you're trying to look out for what's best for the kids." Baumgartner said.

In case of emergencies

While many local teachers and parents are in support of HB 2251, others say they're hesitant to leave their children without a means to communicate with them. Some parents have cited safety concerns, wanting to be able to reach their children in case of an emergency.

"My daughter will keep her phone with her at all times. I'm not going to rely on the school to notify me if there's an emergency," parent Dara Capehart commented on a KTVZ Facebook post created to garner opinions for this story, which asked parents to weigh in about the use of cellphones in schools.

Others like the idea of knowing immediately, from their child, if the school is under lockdown, or experiencing another emergency.

"With all the crazy situations that have happened in schools across the nation and locally, I 100% want my kids to have access to call home just in case," another parent, Tiffany Johnson, commented on the Facebook post.

While Levy sympathizes with concerned parents, she added that kids will often "flood the lines," with messages during emergencies, sometimes putting out false information due to the stressful situation. Experts also discourage excessive cellphone use during a school emergency, stating that the hundreds of messages going out to parents during a lockdown or emergency situation can be counterproductive.

"When there is a critical incident going on, we don't need students distracted by their device. We need for them to be locked in on what it is that they've learned to do through appropriate drills and listening to their teacher," said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers.

According to Levy, another bill she headed up in the legislature – Alyssa's Law – could offer some peace of mind for anxious parents.

On March 25, Alyssa's Law moved forward after unanimously passing the Oregon House. The bill, HB 3083, would improve emergency response times in schools by requiring school districts to consider installing a panic alarm system in their schools. The bill is now headed to the Senate for a vote.

In 2023, state legislators passed a funding bill, HB 5014, which included giving schools the necessary $2.5 million to install these emergency panic alarm systems.

If Alyssa's Law passes, schools could begin utilizing the available funds to implement these systems.

"If we do these two things together, we are really addressing that alert portion of knowing where your kids are and making sure that you all have absolute, up-to-date information instantly," said Levy.

Moving toward healthier habits

While the bill would require certain changes in classrooms, leading to some hesitation, several states across the country have already mandated restricting cellphone use in schools. In January, at least eight states had passed legislation on student cellphone use and, according to Levy, have reported major successes.

"Several schools have already implemented this, and what I've heard from teachers and administrators is that it feels like school again. We're seeing attendance rise, fights go down," she said.

While students may need time to adjust to changes, if the bill passes, Levy believes they've built the need for local control into the bill, allowing each district to design what their plan looks like.

"We're trying to get our reading and our math scores back up, and we're trying to address the mental health crisis," said Levy. "I think that technology is a wonderful tool when harnessed correctly, but when we're competing for attention and having that constant alertness, constant distraction, it actually changes the way that our kiddos' brains react," she said.

While the bill may still see some amendments, according to Levy, including more flexibility around lunch time or passing periods, the bill would certainly change things for students and teachers if passed.

Parents and school districts aren't entirely sure what the results of this bill will look like when implemented, but many are hopeful.

"We hope it passes, and I hope that the Bend-La Pine School District has a thoughtful approach to implementation, which involves educating families, connecting with families, educating teachers, connecting with teachers and kind of getting the community on board," said Formica with Well Wired.

—This story was reported in collaboration with local TV station KTVZ. The video version of this story will be available at KTVZ.com on May 8.