Nantucket School Committee Approves "Bell-To-Bell" Cell Phone Ban

The Nantucket School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass a new cell phone policy for Nantucket High School and Cyrus Peirce Middle School that requires students to place their phones and other personal electronics in secure, magnetically locked bags at the start of each school day, only retrieving them after the final bell. While committee members spoke in favor of the policy at previous meetings, discussion at Wednesday’s meeting was limited.

“We scheduled this meeting so that we could hear from the public, and it was so impassioned and so clearly in favor of this cellphone policy, so I moved [immediately] to a motion for that reason,” School Committee chair Laura Gallgher Byrne said.

This ‘bell-to-bell’ restriction brings Nantucket in line with many schools, including Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, that have passed similar bans as evidence mounts that teen cellphone use dramatically exacerbates mental health issues and slashes attention spans. Phone use is also tied to social isolation and suicide risk. Some evidence suggests that the mere presence of a phone, even if it is not accessed, reduces cognitive performance.

Nearly every comment at Wednesday’s meeting was in favor of the draft policy. Supporters included Nantucket Teachers Association president Martha Page Martineau, Unite for Safe Social Media founder Christine Vineis, former NPS Technical Director Jen Erichsen, Cyrus Peirce Middle School principal Michael Horton, Our House president and former School Committee chair Pauline Proch, NPS chief financial officer Martin Anguelov, and several veteran NPS educators and parents.

“I am absolutely, as a teacher, in support of this policy,” Martineau said. “The pandemic absolutely shifted the way our kids interacted with their phones, and we are never going back. They have a really difficult time controlling themselves around their phones, and that's the reality.”

“Evidence continues to mount that smartphones are compromising not just our instructional time but the very foundations of healthy adolescent development. The impact of smartphones extends far beyond missed math lessons and distracted classrooms. Their presence is diminishing our students' ability to connect with one another, to communicate thoughtfully, and to build resistance,” said Tracy Mailloux, who has taught at NPS for 27 years. “This is not just a matter of classroom management, it is a matter of safeguarding students’ mental health, cognitive engagement, and academic potential.”

Commenters emphasized the social-emotional and mental health benefits to students

“Nantucket Public Schools’ draft policy is the model of best practices across the country and I am here to fully endorse and urge your positive vote tonight,” Vineis said. “Devices undermine social and emotional learning, as you know. Schools aren’t just for academics. They’re where students learn essential life skills.”

This policy is a shift from the school’s current policy for personal electronics, which mandates that students turn in their electronics at a designated location at the start of each class but allows access during lunch and passing periods between classes. Exceptions are still allowed for students with medical conditions or disabilities that require them to use personal electronics, and students can access their devices with administration approval, for instance, if they need to call a parent.

A number of teachers spoke in favor of the change on Wednesday, emphasizing the struggle teachers face when they attempt to take students’ phones at the start of each class.

“It has been an expectation for us to take phones at the beginning of every class and I can't tell you how awful that experience is because it makes a teacher into a police officer and not a teacher, so the first few minutes of class we are being asked to play bad cop to get kids to put their phones into the caddy, and no teacher wants to be put in that position, and as a result, there are lot of teachers who don't collect phones,” Martineau said. “To take this off the table will be a relief for us, and it will also be a relief for kids.”

The policy for the Nantucket Intermediate and Elementary Schools is different, allowing students to keep their devices in their bags or backpacks as long as they are not used during the day.

The School Committee also received a letter in support of the policy from Police Chief Jody Kasper. Kasper wrote to address concerns raised at previous meetings that the policy would prevent students from being able to contact their parents in the event of a serious emergency, such as a school shooting.

“I am familiar with the perception that students need personal phones for safety in [emergencies], but I see no connection between cell phone possession and safety. In reality, student cell phone use during emergencies can significantly undermine safety, impede response efforts, and introduce new risks. I support restricting cell phones in schools,” Kasper wrote. “My top priority is student safety. That safety is best ensured when students are fully attentive, focused on the situation at hand, and prepared to follow instructions or respond as needed. Equally important is the ability of our first responders to communicate clearly, act quickly, and take control of the scene without interference or delay.”

Kasper said that cellphone use during emergencies distracts students from critical instructions, overloads communication networks, spreads misinformation and panic, compromises safety protocols, and impedes emergency procedures.

The vote was initially slated to take place on Friday, June 20th, but was delayed until a public hearing could be held so parents and other community members could voice their opinions.

“I think it’s important we have a conversation so that people feel heard and they understand, instead of a policy that still has a lot of what-ifs,” Gallagher-Byrne said at the time. “Again, I think it’s the transparency of what we plan to do and letting parents and people know about the rollout.”

NPS will be contracting with Yondr, a company focused on creating phone-free environments, best known for the Yondr pouches NPS will be purchasing. At Wednesday’s School Committee meeting, Superintendent Elizabeth Hallett said that NPS expects the program to cost roughly $30,000 the first year. NPS will pay for the pouches and magnets themselves and will not charge parents.

Nantucket’s policy comes as Massachusetts debates mandating a similar ban statewide. Earlier this year, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell proposed the Safe Technology Use and Distraction-free education for Youth, or “STUDY” Act, which would require schools to block students from using phones during the school day. The Act remains pending before the legislature.

“[This policy] takes the responsibility off the classroom teacher entirely and will directly increase time of learning,” Horton said. “No phone access during the day should mean more time in the classroom.”