Indiana's cellphone ban means less school drama. But students miss their headphones

Jadon Howard, 15, used to spend a lot of time secretly on his phone during class.

"And last year, I had a whole bunch of missing assignments," says Jadon, a sophomore at Beech Grove High School near Indianapolis.

His mom, Erin Franklin, says her son could easily be a good student, but "he wasn't giving his all in school and his all in sports — it was all about electronics, and that's really all he cared about."

This year has been different.

"I feel like I'm paying attention more, and more focused," Jadon explains.

What changed? This is Jadon's first school year under a new Indiana law that restricts the use of phones and other devices in schools.

Last fall, about 7 in 10 U.S. high school teachers reported that students being distracted by their phones was a "major problem" in classrooms, according to a study by Pew Research Center.

Indiana is among a handful of states that have responded to that problem by passing laws or enacting policies that aim to restrict the use of cellphones in schools. According to an Education Week analysis, six of those state measures take effect this school year. In places without state policies, individual districts have adopted their own cellphone bans, including districts in Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs, Colo., Cherry Hill, N.J., and multiple cities in Michigan.

It's too soon to say whether these policies will be effective in improving student engagement, but the initial reports from Indiana seem promising.

Since school started in late July, Jadon says, he has stayed off his phone during class time. He plays sports and doesn't want to risk getting in trouble.

Franklin, his mom, says that her son is more mature now and that his personal growth, coupled with the new cellphone ban, "has really helped him with school and sports."

She says at first her state's new law felt like government overreach. But the more she has learned about the policy and the reasons for it, the more she's convinced it will benefit teachers and students in the long run.

It's easier for teachers to police phones now

Brett Crousore is the principal of Lawrence North High School, about a 20-minute drive north of Beech Grove.

"I did not do a good job, as a building principal here over the last 14 years, of requiring that [phones be] put away," he says.

Crousore says prior to Indiana's law taking effect this summer, teachers made their own rules around cellphones, which means policies varied from classroom to classroom.

And Lawrence North senior October Stitt says those policies weren't always effective.

"I would see my teachers having to, like, constantly tell people to put their phones away, and people will just look at them and not listen," October says.

Indiana's law, which passed with bipartisan support, forbids students from using wireless communication devices during instructional time. There are exceptions for educational purposes, emergencies and students who need their phones for medical or disability reasons. It's up to schools to come up with their own discipline procedures for violations.

Crousore says as much as students need to be held accountable to the law, educators do, too. He says he has been visiting classrooms to ensure devices remain out of sight during instruction time.

"I do a scan of the room, and I'll point to my ear [if I see headphones], or I'll point to a cellphone on a desk, and the teacher will give me a thumbs-up," Crousore says.

At Beech Grove High School, the school Jadon attends, students who use a phone or other device during class time face a range of consequences, including a referral — basically a note in their school records. They may also have to hand their phone over to a teacher for the rest of class.

Lawrence North students face similar consequences for being on their phones.

"I won't say that I needed somebody else to tell me to get off my phone," says Lawrence North senior Taylor Smith, "but I will say that it's going to help me a great deal to have that thought in the back of my mind, saying, 'Wait, this is illegal.'"

Taylor describes his relationship with his phone as "toxic" and a device that he struggles to pull himself away from.

"We've been raised by our phones to a large extent," he says. "A lot of the world's been on our phones."

Last year, when his cellphone would buzz during class, he'd sometimes reach for it. Under the new law, Taylor says, he doesn't do that anymore.

Lawrence North math teacher Jenny Guimont says, "It makes my job easier to know that the law is behind me — you know, that basically now I have something to support my message."

She says that in prior years, repeatedly telling students to get off their devices exhausted her and cost instructional time. She's appreciative of the new law because it provides uniformity across classrooms.

"It just creates a sense of peace and clear focus for the day," she says.

Beech Grove City Schools Superintendent Laura Hammack says she expected more pushback and disruption from students in reaction to the new law, but their response so far has been "absolutely incredible."

"I believe what we're witnessing is that students are almost unburdened, with that phone sort of being a constant presence."

Limiting phone access has cut down on the drama

Phones aren't only a distraction from academics; educators and students say they've also driven interpersonal conflicts and contributed to poor mental health.

"It's very common for people at my school to just go online and post something and then don't talk about it in person at all," says Lawrence North junior Amélie Perry.

"There's a lot of drama."

Amélie says a lot of the bullying that students experience occurs online. "I do think social media should definitely be limited, because it's just not a good environment to mix with school."

But she dislikes the state cellphone law because she thinks it's too strict. Amélie says there should be more flexibility within the law to let students use their phones in ways that help them with their schoolwork.

Alexa Murray, a counselor at Beech Grove, says she has seen messages traded between students during class time turn into disruptive confrontations. Since the new law took effect, she says, those incidents have been "fewer and farther between."

"It might happen in the hallway … or it might happen during lunch, but it's not happening during instruction time," Murray says.

The problem isn't limited to fights at school. Students told NPR that looking at their cellphones can change their entire mood.

"I've seen a lot of people go through depression because of [social media], and it just messes up your mental health, especially in high school," says Erika Azocar, a sophomore at Lawrence North.

It's something educators have also witnessed.

"The kids can be having a perfectly fine day, open Instagram and see something, and then are suddenly mad about whatever the thing is, and it ruins the whole rest of their day," says Carolyn Moen, a Spanish immersion teacher at Lawrence North.

Students really miss their headphones

Many of the high schoolers NPR spoke with voiced one overarching concern about Indiana's cellphone law.

"Last year, there was not a point in my day where I did not have a headphone in listening to something, and now I can't listen to anything," says Beech Grove senior Grace Wingfield.

Students typically use their phones to listen to music, but that's no longer allowed during instructional time in Indiana. Grace says music helped her stay focused during quiet work time at school. Without it, she says, she's struggling to concentrate.

"I think that's probably the hardest part for me of this whole phone rule, just not having music."

Multiple students shared Grace's grievance.

But Martin Barker, an instructional coach at Beech Grove, says headphones are a mixed bag.

"Some students, that absolutely locks them in if they're really distracted by the classroom," he says. "But I have other students that like, absolutely, music just completely distracts them and they can't focus on what they're supposed to do."

Barker believes this law will benefit more than it will hurt. Just a couple of weeks into the new school year, Barker says his students are more focused and he has not had to remind them to put their devices away.

His colleague, Beech Grove English teacher Josie Defreese, says she has noticed another benefit: "I feel like my classrooms are loud again."

Last year, Defreese says, when her students had downtime, their heads were buried in their phones and it was quiet. This year, that has changed.

"The kids turn to each other and talk, or they start drawing on my board, or they ask me questions with their homework, and it just becomes a lot more lively, interactive environment," she says.

Defreese hopes it stays that way.

Contact WFYI investigative education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org.