Over the past several months, Denver Public Schools put together the Communications Devices Advisory Committee (CDAC) to tackle a question many districts across the country are wrestling with: What role should cell phones play in schools?
The committee, made up of parents, educators, mental health professionals, and community members, spent months reviewing research, hearing from stakeholders, and discussing what would best support student learning and well-being. Ultimately, the committee recommended a districtwide bell-to-bell, away-all-day phone-free policy.
As the DPS Board of Education considers the recommendation, some board members have expressed concerns about student pushback and whether such a policy is realistic for high schools.
One CDAC member, DPS parent Sarah, recently shared a message with board members urging them to stay the course.
As both a parent and a participant in the committee process, Sarah believes the district has a responsibility to act on what it has learned.
“As I listened to the May 20 board meeting, I heard some board members share concerns that students really don’t want this policy. As the parent of a high school student, I hear this regularly myself,” she wrote.
But Sarah argues that student resistance should not be confused with what is best for students.
“We adults have collectively enabled a reliance on and an addiction to these devices by our teens. We have built systems that make students feel like the phone is ever more important to be able to navigate their daily lives. But now that we know better, we as the adults MUST do better.”
Her message speaks to a growing concern among parents, educators, and mental health professionals: many young people have never experienced a school day without the constant presence of a smartphone.
Sarah shared examples she has heard from students who worry about how they would find friends during lunch or navigate their day without texting.
“Kids are telling you they cannot be without their phones because many have never been forced to learn how,” she wrote. “I have heard comments like, ‘How would I find my friends at lunchtime?’ Are we really okay with preparing students who lack the creativity and skills to meet up with friends without a phone?”
Importantly, Sarah pushes back on the idea that the committee failed to listen to students.
In fact, she says student voices played a critical role in shaping the recommendation.
“The kids admitted the policies some high schools currently have to put phones away just during instructional time are not effective. The recommendations came from what we heard from students.”
That finding echoes what we’ve heard from families and educators across Colorado. Policies that allow phone use during passing periods, lunch, and other parts of the school day often create inconsistency and make enforcement more difficult. Bell-to-bell policies provide clear expectations for everyone.
Another concern raised during board discussions has been implementation. Can a district as large and diverse as Denver successfully implement a bell-to-bell policy at the high school level?
Sarah believes the answer is yes.
“At this point, 22 states have passed a K-12 bell-to-bell policy and more are moving in this direction every day.”
She points to examples across the country—including some of the nation’s largest school districts—that have successfully adopted similar policies and seen positive outcomes.
“DPS high schools are not being asked in any way to do something revolutionary here. And it works.”
At Stand for Children Colorado, we’ve heard similar stories from districts across the state and nation. Educators report improvements in student engagement, classroom focus, and face-to-face interaction when phones are removed from the school day.
For Sarah, however, the conversation is ultimately bigger than implementation logistics.
It’s about preparing students for life beyond high school.
“As more and more districts and states move to bell-to-bell, high school kids who do not learn how to engage and interact device-free and to survive without their devices for a sustained period of time are going to be at a distinct disadvantage when entering post-secondary education and the workforce.”
Her message concludes with a challenge to district leaders:
“Please do not shy away from something that is unequivocally better for kids’ mental well-being and learning because it seems logistically complicated or because kids are resisting due to the ways we adults have failed them.”
Denver Public Schools created the CDAC because it recognized the importance of getting this decision right. The committee did the work. It listened to students, families, educators, and experts. It reviewed research and wrestled with difficult questions.
Now, as the Board of Education considers the recommendation, it has an opportunity to honor that process and put student well-being first.
As Sarah reminds us:
“Now that we know better, we must do better.”
