Stakeholders within Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) are already looking towards next school year with a particular eye on districtwide cellphone use.
At the June 6 regular meeting of the SMMUSD Board of Education, several officials responded to the slew of emails sent in by parents concerned about student device use in the classroom, including SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton who brought up the email correspondence during his Superintendent’s report. The emails were sent in by the group Santa Monica Parents for Slow Tech, who seek some form of cellphone prohibition policy from the board.
Parents for Slow Tech recently met at one parent’s home to draft emails detailing what they would like to see of the board, as they feel cellphone use is impacting academic performance and social aptitude for a majority of grade levels. Typically thought of as a secondary school issue, Grant Elementary School parent Laura Gallant said that device use is beginning to creep onto Grant’s school grounds as well.
"I am simply here to underscore the urgency regarding action around the adoption of a cellphone free policy … although phones are not typically prevalent until middle school, we are seeing the effects of device exposure in elementary schools, and it’s clear that this issue requires a far more comprehensive resolution than what we are currently applying," Gallant said.
Another parent embracing the slow tech movement is Laura Kachergus, who told the Daily Press that the two "must-haves" of the group’s emails were a school board policy banning the usage of cellphones during the school day, and to have said policy enacted before the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. Kachergus laid out three potential options for a policy: Students putting phones into shoe pouches or similar cubbies for the day, stashing the phone in a "phone locker" and using the magnetically lockable pouches like the Yondr brand.
"Those are three options right there, I’d love to see one of those," Kachergus added. "I’d love to see the school district just start even with an actual policy … at the middle and high school level [each] teacher just has to create their own policy. And so at the high school [level], different teachers have different things. Some have cubbies, some have a shoe pouch, some have nothing, some institute the policy every class [and] every time, some are only [enforcing] when we have tests and exams. Some [say], you know, I’m leaving this up to the students to regulate themselves."
While some school sites try their own methods, there is not a true-blue districtwide policy fit for modern devices, something Shelton said the board will work diligently to achieve over the coming months. The Superintendent announced that a "working group" will begin to formulate ideas for a policy in the fall, with the aim to have a recommendation for the school board by January 2025.
Though not on the timetable Parents for Slow Tech wished for, Shelton added that it is a "precarious situation" putting together a consultant group during the transition into the summer, and that said group should take its time collecting opinions from a wide range of stakeholders.
"I think it’s important that we are all on the same page … we can’t do anything in a silo," Shelton said. "Nothing can happen with just one group focused on something, but when you bring a community together, we can get something done. I want you to know that I, along with the members of our school board, understand the concerns regarding the impact of cellphone use at home, in our classrooms and on our campuses. The prevalence of cellphones in classrooms has become a prescient issue across the country."
Shelton went on to say that while cellphones can be "valuable" in some instances, a rise in student attention deficit and social anxiety tied to the devices is hard to ignore.
"These issues are contributing to increased stress, anxiety, depression in our students," Shelton stated. "Recognizing these challenges, district leaders and board members are committed to exploring effective strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of cellphones in our schools. This will require a collaboration of parents, teachers and school administrators in this important conversation."
Several school board members hopped into the conversation immediately, including suggestions by Laurie Lieberman and Maria Leon-Vasquez to ensure a wide range of communications on the issue and to bring students into the policy discussion.
Fellow board member Alicia Mignano, who attended the recent Parents for Slow Tech meeting alongside Board President Jennifer Smith, touched on the state politics piece of the issue as Assembly Bill 3216 works its way through the California State Senate. The bill would mandate that all school districts in the state adopt policies to "limit or prohibit use [of smartphones] by its pupils."
"There is a movement within the state to implement a policy, so we have the opportunity to be leaders, and to take this conversation before everyone else," Mignano said. "I think it’s a great opportunity for our district … to get ahead of this and lead like we did when it comes to Ethnic Studies [graduation requirements]."
