A statewide rule will not fit every school. A small rural district has different problems than a big city high school. Let local boards, parents, and teachers make the policy they can actually enforce.

Phones are part of life now. Kids need practice using them responsibly. Keep them out during lessons, but do not pretend school can solve every screen-time problem by hiding the phones.

Students need to learn how to manage technology, not just have it taken away. Schools should teach digital habits and set classroom boundaries, but an all-day ban treats teenagers like they cannot be trusted at all.

Rules fail when every teacher has to argue with every student. Locked storage or pouches create a clear system. If the state wants a serious phone policy, it should help schools use tools that make enforcement consistent.

I do not love locking up phones, but half-measures do not work if kids can still keep them in their pockets. A pouch system gives students the same rule and takes pressure off teachers.

I want my kids focused in class, but I also want them able to check in before practice, after lunch, or if plans change. A class-time rule is a reasonable balance.

Class time is where the learning problem is clearest. Keeping phones away during instruction gives teachers relief without turning the whole school day into a phone-policing exercise.

A full-day rule can still have emergency and medical exceptions. Schools already make safety exceptions for many policies. The default should be that students are present, not checking a screen all day.

Class-only bans leave too many loopholes. If phones come out at lunch and between classes, the social pressure and distraction continue. A clear bell-to-bell rule is easier to understand and enforce.