30 School Districts That Have Banned Cellphones: Full List Here

There is a growing trend throughout the United States of schools banning cellphone usage. This is traveling throughout Maine, because over 30 school districts have now voted to ban or restrict the use of cellphones in schools, according to WGME.

The most recent city to adopt these measures is Bath, where the school board recently voted to implement new guidelines for middle and high school students, as per the article. 

Assistant Superintendent Katie Joseph pointed out that the research connecting screen time to harmful effects on students' mental health, saying,

Our administrators have been reviewing this research for years. With our primary goals being the enhancement of mental health services and support within our schools, we decided to implement guidelines rather than an outright ban on phones and smartwatches.

Under these new rules, Bath students will be using the "Yondr Pouches" to store their phones and smartwatches during school hours.

So this is how it's going to go. Once the students arrive, they will place their devices in these pouches, which they keep with them throughout the day. The pouches are designed to lock, stopping access to the devices until the last period ends, when the pouches are demagnetized.

The hope is that this will lead to increased concentration, better relationships, and improved overall well-being among students.

Bath resident Shannon Stahlmann supports this, saying,

Many things accessed on phones are not beneficial to mental health and can distract from schoolwork.

This initiative is part of a bigger move to create a more healthy environment for learning.

Not all schools are using the pouches, but some are instead implementing different ways of decreasing cellphone usage in schools.

Here is the list of all of the schools observing this ban:

Take a look at how each school is implementing this ban here.

• Ashland District School
• Noble Middle School, Berwick
• Blue Hill Community School
• Cape Elizabeth Middle School
• Caribou High School
• Central High School, Corinth
• Marshwood Middle School, Eliot
• Falmouth Middle School
• WG Mallett School in Farmington
• Fort Kent Community School
  
• Narragansett Elementary School, Gorham
• MSAD 15, Gray
• Reeds Brook Middle School, Hampden
• Hermon Middle School
• Penobscot Valley High School / Hichborn Middle School, Howland
• Saint Dominic Academy, Lewiston
• Limestone Community School
• Madawaska Middle / High School
• MSAD 42, Mars Hill
• Leonard Middle School, Old Town
• Orono High School
• Bruce M Whittier Middle School, Poland
• Presque Isle Middle School
• Maranacook High School, Readfield
• Mountain Valley High School, Rumford
• Washburn District Elementary School
• Windham Middle School
• RSU 14, Windham