Vol. 104 No. 4
The student-run newspaper of McKinley High School
by Jacky Oasay
T
he Hawai’i State Board of Education has a new statewide policy prohibiting student cell phone use in public schools to “eliminate distractions in classrooms, enhance academic focus and improve social interaction.” This policy was passed on Feb. 12 and is scheduled to take effect in the 202627 school year. In response to the statewide phone ban in Hawai’i public schools, McKinley High School students answered a Pinion poll regarding the policy, with a large majority of students saying they knew about the phone ban being implemented next year. In addition to this, many students responded opposing the policy. Students responded on a scale of one to four—one being phones do not harm students during instructional time at all, and four being they do. The majority answered with a two. Along with this, the majority of students said this phone ban will be more harmful to students. Their biggest concern with the policy is regarding emergencies, and how they will be able to contact their parents if one occurs. “A phone ban will make it harder
to contact family members in case of emergencies. Students will all have a harder time relieving stress if access to phones becomes limited,” said an anonymous student on the poll. Students replied to the poll saying it is the teacher’s fault for not making lessons engaging. “It is not a phone issue but a personal issue … along with the teacher being boring,” said another student replying to the poll. What Is the Policy? This policy states cell phone use is prohibited during all school hours in elementary and middle school. For high schools, it is only prohibited during instructional time. However, high schools may have the discretion for students to use their phones outside of that time—before or after school, lunch and at designated breaks. The Board of Education has been discussing this policy since early 2025. According to the official policy, the board recognized cell phones have been “used to engage students in innovative learning, but that informal learning has concerns.” Some of these concerns include cyber-bullying, distraction from work and interpersonal communication. Another concern was the
Established in 1920
inconsistent regulations on a school level—meaning not all schools have the same policies. The board wanted a unified policy, reflecting “student development readiness to establish clear expectations.” The board collected data regarding complex area perceptions of the policy. According to their data, 86% of schools have a policy for cell phone use, while 14% stated they do not. The most common phone policy is having them turned off and kept in backpacks. The board has conducted many public hearings for the community to testify. Logan Otani, Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders Vanguard member and University of Hawai’i at Manoa (Story continued on p. 2.)
All infographics by Jacky Oasay based on statistics from a Pinion survey with 121 respondents. RS 26-1312