Colorado attorney general offers $50K for school districts to implement cellphone restrictions or bans

COLORADO, USA — Colorado schools don’t need a bunch of data to figure out cell phones in schools are a distraction, but maybe they need money to do something about it. The Colorado attorney general is offering school districts up to $50,000 to find ways to reduce or ban cellphone use in classrooms. 

The funding comes from the state’s settlement with Juul after an investigation found the company targeted young people in their marketing and misrepresented the health risks posed by their products.

It’s an effort that brings mixed reviews. 

“I don’t send my son to school with a cell phone for him to play video games or to do whatever kids do nowadays. I send him [with it] mainly for safety reasons,” Colorado parent Maja Smith said. She understands why school districts may want to restrict cellphone use, but the thought of banning it all together worries her. 

Violent threats to schools are something she thinks about often. Her son already went through a false alarm. 

“And that time he did forget his cell phone at home and first thing he said was, ‘Mom I couldn’t get ahold of you,’ so, he was in a lot of distress,” she explained. “When he got out, he was extremely traumatized. He thought he would never talk to me again. It was really sad to see that in his state.” 

9NEWS parenting expert and family therapist Dr. Sheryl Ziegler wants to see school districts ban cell phones. She said having access to a cell phone means access to social media and the distractions and mental health risks that come with it. 

A ban could possibly change that. 

“My guess would be, we would have less bullying, we would have less aggression, we would have less unsafe situations for parents to even be concerned about that they need to get in touch with their kids,” Ziegler said. “The biggest hump is getting parents comfortable to not have immediate instant access to their kids.” 

A spokesperson with Denver Public Schools told 9NEWS, a district-wide ban is not something being considered. They said each school can create their own policy, and they’re not aware of any schools with a ban. 

Moms like Smith hope it stays that way. 

“Instead of taking things away, we need to teach our kid, give them clear expectations,” she added. “The more you ban something the more it’s going to be wanted.” 

If a district signs up the incentive program the money will go towards paying for different ways to limit cell phone use, like pouches or cell phone storage systems or even launching programs for responsible cell phone use. 

9NEWS also asked other metro area school districts if they had any interest in a district-wide ban. The Douglas County School District said a cell phone ban is a decision made by each principal or building leader for the students at their school, both for class time and lunch or free time.