A new school year means new rules. Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, The District 86 Board of Education has implemented a new policy named, “Bell to Bell…No Cell”, that imposes a restriction of all student owned cellular devices during class periods. The main idea is that it must not be visible nor in use during the 50 minutes of class time. 

In an effort to improve classroom productivity and further stimulate the adolescent mind of the students, teachers are required to enforce the No Cell Rule. Some teachers have recognized the added benefits. 

“I think it’s great. I think it’s awesome,” said Sally Belter, Spanish Teacher. 

It’s not just teachers that find the new policy to be beneficial to their learning. 

 “I think that the phone policy makes it easier for me to focus in class,” said Chase Barrett, senior. 

While the phones were the main targets of the policy, Macbooks and Apple Watches were also banned. Students were forced to stick to the conventional Chromebooks and turn off all other personal devices. Naturally, this caused a reaction within some of the student body. 

 “A student should be able to use a MacBook or use an Apple Watch as needed. People should be allowed to use those other forms of technology as long as it’s productive,” Barret said.

Similar rules were in place last year, but were not as strongly enforced and students were not penalized as harshly for breaking the rules. 

Compared to the old rules, the new policy specifically required all teachers to ensure that each student phone was accounted for in either the “phone caddy”, a hanging poster that holds a total of 36 phones near the door in every classroom, or their respective backpacks. 

There may be certain scenarios where students may benefit positively from utilizing their phone or need it for emergency situations. 

“During individual work time, I focus better when I have music in the background,” Barrett said. 

With regards to this need of students, some teachers have offered alternative options for students.

“My [idea] is that you can use Spotify on your computer, and I have headphones that work with your computer,” Belter said. “Too often using the phone for music turns into watching videos on Tiktok.” 

It is two weeks into the school year and although students are adhering to the rules so far, there are still mixed opinions on the new policy.

Looking ahead of the 2025-2026 school year, only time will tell how effective this policy will be and what effect it will have on classroom focus.