Poudre School District staff outline high‑school cell‑phone rules: silenced and out of sight during class, with limited site flexibility

Poudre School District staff presented a proposed, districtwide alignment of high‑school cell‑phone practices Tuesday, outlining a mix of “tight” rules that would be consistent at all high schools and “loose” elements that individual schools could tailor to their communities.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Julie Chaplin led the presentation with Fort Collins High assistant principal Justin Stevens and Fossil Ridge assistant principal Dr. Sonia Geddy. The plan Staff presented would require phones and smartwatches to be silenced and out of sight for the full class period (from bell to bell); headphones linked to phones would be disallowed during instruction, though wired headphones plugged into district devices would be allowed. Passing periods, lunch, off periods and before/after school would remain phone‑allowed times.

Exceptions: Students with documented accommodations in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 plans or health‑care plans could use devices as specified in those plans. Staff also said schools could allow phones for curriculum‑approved activities (for example, social‑media marketing classes or life‑skills coursework) when an administrator approved the lesson.

Enforcement: Each high school would publish a three‑tier response for violations. The first tier could be either a warning or an immediate confiscation depending on site practice; the second and third tiers were standardized across schools: phones taken and held in the front office until the end of day for second and third violations, with repeated offenses (more than three in a school year) triggering a co‑created technology plan and possible code‑of‑conduct consequences. Schools will not enter first or second tier phone incidents into the district student‑information system unless they escalate to formal discipline.

Staff emphasized communication and teaching: administrators will hold two class periods at the start of the school year to teach expectations, provide family communications over the summer and post school‑level procedures in handbooks and newsletters. IT staff are exploring alternatives for coaches and advisors who currently use social media to coordinate practice times, and schools were urged to adopt low‑touch systems (for example, simple pouches or caddies) for collecting phones to avoid placing heavy burden on teachers.

Evidence from pilot sites: Justin Stevens (Fort Collins High) and other principals reported positive outcomes in sites that have already used stricter practices: more student attention in class, improved face‑to‑face interactions at lunch, and relatively low repeat offenses. Chaplin cited a statistic from one site—Timnath Middle High—showing more than 700 phones handled through February with only about 20 students having more than two violations, suggesting concentrated rather than widespread repeat noncompliance.

Next steps: The update required no board vote. District staff will continue to coordinate messaging, finalize the districtwide “tight” and “loose” elements and provide parent resources; schools will implement site procedures and teach expectations at the start of the next school year.

Why it matters: Administrators said the move targets classroom distraction, social comparison and mental‑health correlations linked in national studies to high social‑media and smartphone use. The district framed the rule as both an instructional protection and an opportunity to teach students how to manage device use in adult settings.