Cell Phone Free Education

 Phones Away: Toledo Public Schools is activating a plan to have all classrooms be cell phone-free at the start of the 2025-26 academic year. Students will not have access to their cell phones and/or personal electronic devices during the school day.

Cellphones can be a great tool, but they can also be damaging to a child’s education and well-being. When students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates, learning and social behavior improve. With that in mind, TPS has decided to use YONDR system for Comprehensive high schools and magnet schools. Students will be required to secure their phones in a personal YONDR Pouch that locks during the school day upon arrival and is unlocked when they leave.

K-8 buildings will use secure lockboxes for device storage. Students will check in their phones each morning and retrieve them at dismissal.

TPS is following a state mandate requiring school districts across Ohio to adopt policies to forbid cell phone use during school hours. Legislation (House Bill 250) was signed into law due to concerns of cell phones creating distractions and having a negative impact on the educational process.

Take a moment to listen to a podcast hosted by Steven Flagg. It features Deputy Superintendent James Gant, who discusses Ohio’s new law on student cell phones. The discussion covers why TPS implemented the policy early, how parents can stay connected to their children during the school day, and what students stand to gain when phones are put away.