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Peoria Public Schools Takes Aim At Cellphone Distractions In the Classroom

Creative Commons

Peoria Public Schools is adopting a new policy aimed at distracting cellphone usage in the classroom.

Under the new rule recommended by the Parent Teacher Advisory Committee, teachers or staffers could ask a student to place their phone in a locking pouch if their usage is deterring from learning. 

“Maybe a teacher has warned a student a couple times, hey please don’t use your cell phone, please don’t use your cell phone. At that point, it would be, okay, it goes into this pouch," he said. 

Peoria Public Schools spokesman Thomas Bruch says there were more than 2,700 phone-related infractions reported in the 2018-19 school year.

He says the new policy is an acknowledgment that cellphone usage among youth has changed since the district’s “off and out of sight” policy was first implemented years ago. 

Tim is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.