New Controversial Phone Policy is Launched: What Students and Staff Think of It

This article was co-written with Aaron Hanson

The phone box that the students turn their phone into at the beginning of the day. Students must turn in their phone in the morning and put it in the phone box. Photo courtesy of Aaron Hansen.

The start of the 2026-2027 school year at Vashon High School introduced a controversial new phone policy requiring all students to turn in their phones and other smart electronics to their first period teacher at the start of the day. Administrators have said that this is to prevent disruptions caused by cell phones during the school day.  Many have varying opinions on whether or not this policy should remain implemented at VHS, however, with teachers showing strong support for the policy, most students showing strong opposition to the policy, and parents being split on whether or not it is a good thing.

This policy has been enacted in numerous school districts across the country as well as some state governments putting it into law, which groups of people in Washington State are vying for. Many students nationwide, including those at VHS, criticize these policies. 

“It will cause just more problems in the future,” Sophomore Desmond Berg said, voicing his strong disapproval of the ban.

VHS students also argued that the former phone policy that involved being able to use phones outside of class was better.

“Our previous phone policy worked pretty well,” Junior Wyatt Arends stated, before suggesting “a more strict one, [where] you get one warning and then [on] your second warning it’s instantly taken.”

“Disabled students [have] had to fight tooth and nail just to keep our phones, which is unnecessary and kind of pathetic on the school’s part,”

Arends continued, addressing the school’s claims to allow disabled students to keep their phones.

Parents’ opinions are split on whether or not this policy is what’s best for VHS students, with some expressing safety concerns.

  “I do fear of the whole school shooting scenario and you need to get a hold of somebody,” said mother Leslee Stockton, “I hope that never happens”. 

More student arguments expressed concerns on the development of students at high school beyond just education.

“[It is] incentivising people to not be responsible.” Sophomore Emmet George said, “high schools used to be a place where you’re taking on a lot more responsibility and it's a proving ground for kids to fail and basically still have a chance to succeed”. 

“Taking away phones just makes it harder to adjust to the real world [where] we have to deal with responsibilities of having a device or having other temptations,” George added.

Administrators and school staff, despite supporting the policy, have acknowledged arguments like George’s.

“I can see that students would see it as a negative just because they feel like high school is a time for you to be a young adult, and learning how to use a cell phone appropriately, they might miss that piece,”

Olney stated. However, Olney made it very clear that she still strongly supports the policy despite the claims against it.

“I like that [students] are interacting and talking and playing ping pong and out on the field and doing all the things”,

Olney said. Principal John Erickson also agrees with the policy, pointing out the social benefits of phones being put away during the school day.

“It’s louder in the cafeteria and in the hallways, and actually, that feels really natural,” Erickson said.

“I have really, really worked hard to make my phone invisible,”

Erickson continued after sharing a story of a freshman who told him it was unfair for staff to be able to use their phones while students cannot.

Meanwhile, VISD School Board Chair Juniper Rogneby highlighted how much the school district’s community has requested the creation of the policy, saying “we have probably got more public input on this decision than anything else in my tenure”. 

She also pointed out that online technology can interfere with learning, saying that “school is a place for learning and things that interrupt your sense of self while you are engaged in the business of learning, that then becomes the business of the school board”. 

But beyond disruptions in the classroom, a single incident in the 2025-2026 school year pushed the School Board to put this policy into existence, according to Rogneby.

“The episode that precipitated most of this,” she said, “was that very unfortunate incident in the bathroom last year” that involved a cell phone.

“We want to make sure something like that never happens again,” she concluded.

Meanwhile, when students got word that this policy would be put in place, many wondered about the permanence of it. 

 “Nothing policy-wise is forever, other than those that come manded from the state”, Rogneby said in a response to these questions.

She also said that the board is looking for feedback on the policy from students, parents, and staff on how the policy’s launch went and if the intended effects of it are seen in the school.

Many people that are included in the Vashon Island School District have different opinions on the phone ban whether it’s a parent, student, or someone apart of the school board. However, even though peoples’ opinions are split on the policy, everyone is connected as a community. The people that are a part of said community will listen and continue to try and make school a better and safer place for everyone over time.