With Midland already having a policy on phones, other areas in Michigan are trying to discuss a new policy that can be voted on.
Michigan lawmakers aim to pass a bill to ban phones in classrooms once again, as the previous bill failed back in July 2025.
“I think that phones definitely have an impact on the learning environment and are a huge distraction,” Counselor Mackenzie Anderson said. “So, some middle ground needs to be implemented. I think if you could bring it to school, it would be safer, but do not use it during class time.”
As Mrs. Anderson believes this, many reports agree with her, showing that social media has been a huge distraction during class time. A survey by Michigan Public found that “75% of educators that were surveyed said that social media is a serious problem at their school,” resulting in students getting distracted about what they see on their feed instead of focusing on education. Therefore, teachers may consider students putting their phone away in a specific spot, like a phone caddy. However, some students might put up a fake phone, or even a calculator, so teachers may need to pay more attention to what students put into the caddy.
“I’m very happy Ford has not banned phones because I can stay in touch with my little sister while she’s at her school,” senior Isabella Hillwig said. “And remind my mom that I won’t be home after school because of sports, or that I’ll be going to a friend’s house to study throughout the day.”
Whether or not they are distracting, some students have to notify their parents that they are going somewhere else after school. To add, students may forget something at home, so they have to notify their parents about bringing it to school or taking a picture. Moreover, it could also balance a pickup time for some students that have clubs or sports after school. Therefore, phones may be beneficial for students to have to stay connected with parents.
“I have a love and hate relationship with the phones,” Fine Arts Teacher Amy May said. “Number of kids, for references, do not use it for the necessary things in my class, but they do it for other things like watching shows. It drives me crazy. If people could just use them responsibly, I would have no problem.” According to MLive, many students were “using ChatGPT and playing games and puzzles on their school-issued devices” instead of working on their assignments. As a result, students are missing out on education and not paying attention in classes, resulting in the downfall of test scores and loss of importance in school.
Overall, the bill to ban phones has many mixed feelings. An alternate option is to have phone caddies where students put them up in a pocket, so that they are not distracted. As Midland being the blueprint, other areas in Michigan now consider a significant phone ban in schools.
