The Hastings Area School System in Barry County is implementing a ban on student’s use of cell phones and mobile devices today. District administrators say the ban is due to an ongoing situation with disrupted classrooms and misuse of the devices by students during the school day.  Administrators point to research that supports the claim that young people are becoming reliant on their phones and as a result are losing focus, social skill development and are scoring lower on school tests.

Students caught with a phone on their person will have the phone taken away in the first incident. They can retrieve their phone from a school office at the end of the day. Subsequent offenses mean a parent or guardian must go to the school to get the phone.School administrators will work with parents and guardians of students who may have special needs requiring the use of a cell phone but beyond that, students may not have a phone on their person. They have to be in something, like a backpack, and turned off, or in their lockers.The district has the phone ban announcement, a list of FAQ’s, and a related infographic posted on the home page of the district web site.

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