MHS has instituted a new phone policy in accordance with a new California law, Principal and Chief Innovator of MHS and New Campus Programs Greg Wohlman said.The law, known as the Phone-Free School Act, requires that by July 1, 2026, all schools need to restrict or prohibit the use of cell phones on campus, according to the official website of the California government.
The law leaves it up to schools to regulate phone usage on their campus, Wohlman said. Some schools restrict phones altogether, while others try to restrict phones in a minimal manner by requiring students to simply put their phones away in their backpacks, Wohman added. The school tried to create a policy somewhere in the middle, he said.
“They (students) can have it (their phones) outside of instructional time,” Wohlman said. “As soon as they walk into the class, it needs to go in the pouch, which is not lockable. People can set it in the pouch and do their school, their class, their course, and then when the bell rings, they can take their phone and make their way to the other class. So that’s a good compromise.”
So far, Wohlman has received positive feedback on surveys he has sent to teachers, he said. Based on widespread research, students will do better in school, both academically and socially-emotionally, with less phone use, he said.
“We know it (the phone policy) is going to help students, and we know it’s going to help teachers,” he said. “So by having something in place now, we can find the adjustments we need to make, and our students will be more prepared when the deadline (July 1, 2026) comes.”
Wohlman wants to hear how students feel about the phone policy, but right now the policy is in a transition period, he said. It’s hard to tell the full impact that the phone policy has had on classrooms since students are still adjusting to it, he added.
“I want to give us more time because in the beginning, it’s like, ‘I want my phone, and I’m freaking out without my phone,’ but now we need to give it some time to get some school background in place,” Wohlman said. “So our students (say), ‘Yeah, it was hard at first, but now it’s okay.’ We need to get enough time to develop that opinion, but students can still say, ‘I don’t like it at all.’ That’s okay, too.”
If there is any pushback from individuals, his first step would be to have a conversation with that person and talk about the issue, Wohlman said. Exceptions to the phone policy, like those for necessary medical devices, are decided on a case-by-case basis, he added.
“There can be medical exemptions honored, and we work with our parameters within a school about how to solve that,” Wohlman said. “It would be a very unique situation, but we’re working through those as they come.”
In certain situations, students can use phones in class as long as it is related to the curriculum and with teacher discretion, Wohlman said. However, this does not mean that teachers get to allow regular phone use within their classrooms, he added. As of yet, this adaptation is not a schoolwide policy, Wohlman said.
“There could be a one-off situation where teachers and students agree that for this project, for this moment, we need to use our phones, but that needs to have specific parameters like, ‘Today, during this period we are going to use our phones.And then we’re done with that, and we put the phones away, and we go on with the day.’”
Social studies teacher Danilo Escobar is happy with the new schoolwide phone policy, he said. Last year, Escobar enforced a phone ban within his own classroom, he said. The schoolwide phone policy has made it easier for him to enforce a phone ban within his classroom, he added.
“I felt like it was work for me to convince them (students) why we were doing it,” Escobar said. “It’s not a chore for me anymore. After the first day of school, it’s like, ‘Okay, you guys are turning in the phones,’ and that’s that. It’s less work for me now that it’s a school policy. I feel like there’s far less resistance to it this year.”
Math teacher Ivy Nguyen didn’t have a phone policy in place for her students last year, she said. The main thing holding her back was that she didn’t have a system or place to hold students’ phones, she said. Nguyen noticed a lot of students using their phones during class without her permission, she said.
“It was very difficult to always police it (phone usage) because it was very draining to have to constantly police phones,” Nguyen said. “I think for the most part, most students were on task, but there would be students that would be off task.”
Nguyen has noticed that most of her students seem more engaged in class with the schoolwide phone policy, she said. Nguyen believes the policy is beneficial to students, she added.
“Students not only are more engaged in the learning, but they are interacting more with each other, rather than being glued to their devices,” Nguyen said. “So there are more conversations this year, on task and off task. I think both are really good for student development and helping to mitigate more anti-social behaviors.”
Freshman Neomi Huynh believes there is a bad side to students being too social during class, he said. Taking every student’s phone is not beneficial, Huynh added.
“Kids get more social because they get bored, and then it makes it louder for the teachers to teach,” Huynh said. “It’s better if you just let the kids who want to use their phones be quiet and on their phones and then let the kids who want to learn (do so).”
Students who don’t pay attention in class are going to find other ways not to be engaged in class, senior Olivia Ling said.
“They (students) can just go play games on their Chromebooks,” Ling said. “They have access to social media on their Chromebooks, and people who are actually paying attention in school will not be on social media, but people who don’t pay attention, will.”
It is much easier to police students misusing Chromebooks than it was phones, Nguyen said.
“Now it’s very clear when students are using their Chromebooks, and it’s very easy to just give an instruction for them to close their Chromebooks, or use Securely, which is not something that I have used, but I know it’s an option,” Nguyen said.
No matter what, the phone policy is going to have to be maintained now because it is the law, Wohlman said. However, he doesn’t have any intention to make the policy stricter, he said. Student feedback will dictate the future of the phone policy, he added.
“It’s never easy to push in policy,” Wohlman said. “When new laws come into play in our state, it’s never easy. I’m just grateful to work with so many students who are willing to understand that it’s not easy for anybody, but we’re willing to do it together.”
