Many students are used to having cell phones and are confused as to why they are suddenly banned when they have been able to use them this whole time. Students should be able to have their personal devices. If it’s theirs, why would they take it away? Tina Kotek, the 39th governor of Oregon, has decided to sign the Executive Order NO. 25-09. This law prevents students from using cell phones during school hours. This is a huge debate between students and staff. Students need their personal devices because they can help them focus more in class, help with emergencies, like school shootings, and academically. Kotek believes that this will improve students’ education, even though many students are responsible with their cell phone usage.
Most students use cell phones when they are working individually. Everyone’s life has improved over the years with the introduction of new technology every day. Teachers include phones in their lesson plans, allowing students to use cell phones to help them learn or make lessons more fun. Additionally, students use cell phones for breaks and emergencies. A majority of students are responsible and know when or where to use their personal devices. Teenagers tend to focus more on music or background noise. Even teachers don’t stop their phone usage during instructional hours. It’s also a necessity for students to be able to communicate with their parents if there is an emergency, during a lockdown, for instance. If students are not able to use their personal devices during school hours to improve academic performance, then adults can stop using personal devices at work to improve their job performance. This law is unrealistic when kids are sneaky. They will continue to use their cell phones when teachers and staff are not around.
Students need to be able to contact their parents during an emergency. The biggest scare in U.S. schools is school shootings. This makes it difficult for students to reach out to their parents if they are unable to have their cell phones. Parents usually don’t find out anything until the kids arrive home from school. School shooting rates have gone up over the past decade. “The U.S. average yearly rate of student exposure to a school shooting has increased threefold over time (from 19 per 100,000 students in 1999-2004 to 51 per 100,000 students in 2020-2024)” (Panchal). This shows that the rates have increased dramatically. Now that technology is so advanced, students can quietly notify their parents. Parents would rather find out from their children than the news. Although school should be a safe space, it is not necessarily a student’s safest place, especially when they want to tell their parents but are unable to when they don’t have their cell phones. When a student is in fear, they are going to need comfort from their parents. Without cell phones, students are unable to contact someone they feel safe or comfortable with.
Having cell phones in school is a good responsibility test. Those who are struggling with their cell phone usage should face the consequences, and not everyone else who is following directions and being responsible with their devices. Tina Kotek states, “Oregon’s schools should be a place where students find belonging, support, and the joy of learning something new.” Many people agree with Governor Kotek because they believe that it impacts students’ education negatively; however, Eder Campuzano states that research shows that over the past decade, graduation rates have improved. Technology has drastically changed in the past 20 years. As technology has improved, so has the education of students. Most students learn on a computer since they receive less paperwork. Jordyn Brown, an author of The Register-Guard, states that there is a slow but steady improvement over the last decade, from 72% in 2014 to almost 82% in 2024. These statistics show that cell phones aren’t an issue academically and that technology has slightly improved students’ education. Cell phones can also positively impact students’ academic performance.
