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The verdict, from parents at least, seems to be in on Aspen School District’s new policy banning cellphone use during the school day: The restriction is a good idea, but some parents find the punishment inequitable.
During an information session held on Google Meet on Wednesday by Aspen High School Principal Sarah Strassburger, at least one skeptical parent was swayed by the conversation, but multiple parents expressed concern about having to be the ones to collect confiscated phones from the office.
One parent on the call said the ban itself is fine, but retrieving the devices from the school office places an imposition on working parents.
“There’s going to be a lot of situations where parents work till 5,” the parent said. “They’re not going to be able to come and get the phone. The kid has after-school situations where they’re going to need the phone, or not.”
Per the district’s policy one-pager, phones and airpods are restricted on campus until classes end at 3:25 p.m. Phones may be in backpacks or theoretically even on a student’s person, but they “may not have phones out or visible during the entire academic day,” including passing or free periods or lunch — save for juniors and seniors who can leave campus during those times.
Any student caught with a phone on campus during school hours will have it confiscated and held at the main office. Parents will be notified to pick up the phone or airpods by 4 p.m.; devices won’t be returned to students. The rule also applies to the elementary and middle schools.
That aspect of the policy was the only one a handful of the 60-plus attendees of Wednesday night’s session repeatedly pushed back on. Multiple parents expressed concern by voice, several more in the meeting’s text chat feature. One noted that requiring the parents retrieve the devices “creates too much of an inequality amongst the students and families.”
This did not apply to all parents, as one said that all students have to do is comply and it won’t become an issue. Another said that a parent being unable to pick up the phone for a couple days means “children will learn from the consequence of not having their phone.”
Strassburger noted she hopes situations where parents are unable to retrieve the phones are one-offs and she wasn’t going to make a “blanket exception” that students will have their phones returned at the end of the day. She said the district is prepared to work with families with extenuating circumstances. She pointed out that the district requires parents to come to the school when other forms of discipline are handed out, like suspensions.
“One thing to remember is that not agreeing doesn’t mean that people weren’t listened to,” Strassburger said in the meeting. “We are not striving for perfection here. We are listening to you and I think what I’m asking is to be partners with parents.
“I’m hopeful that within a few weeks we’re going to see that the learning environment here is better than it’s ever been and we’re just going to keep seeing the positive fruits of kids being more authentically connected.”
The intention behind the policy is to keep students engaged in class and encourage them to have more real-world interactions while at school. Strassburger cited studies showing that access to cellphones increases bullying and decreases focus and ultimately learning in the classroom.
AHS tried an “out-of-sight-during-class” policy last school year, where students placed their phones in pockets in the classroom, but it was too difficult to enforce, Strassburger said. Students would sneak their phones when teachers weren’t looking, or would deposit a “burner” phone in the pocket.
As a whole, there was little objection to the overall policy in the meeting. One parent of a student with disabilities expressed concerns about that student’s need to use airpods to focus, and also asked about emergency communication under the new policy.
That parent appeared to be satisfied by Strassburger’s responses: Students with needs that necessitate a device will have those honored, and the district has strived to improve emergency communication following 2023’s swatting incident.
Students can also communicate with parents (and others) via email on district-issued Chromebook laptops, which every high school student will receive following funding from the Aspen Education Foundation.
Strassburger said in a follow-up email with the Aspen Daily News on Thursday that the high school is intending to stay the course with parental pickups and that the policy has thus far received “overwhelming” support.
“I have not received any negative communication, only positive and enthusiastic support,” Strassburger said in the email. “We will all work together (students, staff, families) to give our students the opportunity to be in school without being tethered to a phone. It is the right thing to do.”