Some Maine school districts are practicing phone-free days ahead of ban
PORTLAND (WGME) – School districts in Maine are getting ahead of the curve when it comes to removing cell phones from the classroom.
RSU 1, which represents several cities and towns on the Midcoast, has already implemented a bell-to-bell phone-free program inspired by the company Yondr, which helps create phone-free spaces across the country.
Here’s how it works: students in grades 6-12 lock their phones in pouches once they enter the school day.
The phones stay in the pouches until students are dismissed.
At Morse High School in Bath, the school is closing in on their second phone-free school year and has seen positive results so far.
“It was a big adjustment for our student population, for our families and for our staff,” Morse High School Principal Eric Varney said. “Overall, we've really seen it help us a lot in terms of focusing students and making sure we're doing what we're supposed to be doing here during the school day.”
As part of the state's supplemental budget, by August 1, all public school districts in Maine will have to implement some sort of bell-to-bell cell phone ban.
