SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — As students across Northeast Ohio settle into the second half of the 2024-25 academic year, school leaders face a looming deadline.

By July, all Ohio public school districts are required by state law to adopt official policies limiting cell phone use in K-12 classrooms. The South Euclid-Lyndhurst City School District is ahead of the curve, rolling out its first formal districtwide policy when school began last fall.

“Our policy is ‘K-12, no cell phone,'” SEL Superintendent Dominick Kaple says.

This school year marks a significant shift in cell phone policy across the district’s six schools. Previously, individual school leaders determined how to handle mobile devices on their campuses, but now a uniform rule is in place: Students must power off and store their phones during the school day. If a student is caught with a phone, staff will confiscate the device, which can only be reclaimed by a parent or guardian.  

“I think kids have kind of realized that we’re not playing, so it’s made a big difference” middle school intervention specialist Lisa Verner said of the new policy. “I haven’t seen, honestly, any (cell phones) this year, and we’re already into our second quarter.”

At Brush High School, new security measures require students to lock their cell phones in Yondr pouches for the duration of the school day. Additionally, students must scan their school identification cards and pass through a metal detector upon entering the building. 

Freshman Braylon Dennard says the policy has been a game-changer for his ability to concentrate. 

“I’m focusing more on my schoolwork and not having to just look at my phone every two seconds if I see a notification,” he told 3News. 

Senior Braden Stewart has seen even bigger results, earning a spot on the honor roll for the first quarter. 

“Usually, I’m more of an average, merit roll (student),” Stewart explained. “With this year, taking away the phones, Yondr bags, it helped me make that little jump I needed to achieve honor roll.” 

Stewart says in the past he fell victim to constant phone use, but with the implementation of the school’s new policy — which he initially didn’t like — he admits he was able to put all his attention into his assignments. 

“When school started, it (the cell phone policy) started to grow on me, so I had to realize it benefited me in the classroom,” he said.

The district’s leadership has noticed a significant impact as well. After the first quarter of implementing Yondr pouches, the number of students earning a 3.0 GPA or higher doubled. 

“We had 41% of our kids on merit roll and honor roll, and that’s something we’re really proud of,” Kaple added. “It’s a huge improvement.”

The district spent nearly $41,000 in COVID relief funds to purchase Yondr pouches for the high school’s more than 1,000 students. 

“Yondr pouches are not cheap,” Kaple acknowledged.

However, he believes the money was well spent. 

“The investment piece has been absolutely exactly what we wanted, just for the pure fact of classroom engagement and student learning,” he said. 

Despite the positive results, the transition has not been without challenges. Some students have discovered how to break open the Yondr pouches, while others use burner phones to bypass the policy. However, Kaple says they have allies in the community helping to enforce the new rules. 

“We’re finding our parents are backing us now … because they’re seeing the student engagement piece,” Kaple noted. “The whole premise of this initial charge was to really get our kids focused in the classroom.”

Kaple says their policy isn’t perfect and they’re always looking to update and adjust, but so far, it is working.