{"id":1340,"date":"2026-06-08T14:03:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T14:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1340"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T14:03:40","slug":"denver-public-schools-poised-to-ban-cellphones-across-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1340","title":{"rendered":"Denver Public Schools poised to ban cellphones across district"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Denver Public Schools is set to become the latest K-12 system in Colorado to ban students\u2019 use of cellphones during school hours, with the Board of Education likely to give final approval to a districtwide prohibition Monday evening.<\/p>\n

School districts across the country have implemented similar policies in recent years to curb social media use during instructional hours, as research shows that these platforms negatively affect students\u2019 mental health and academic outcomes.<\/p>\n

DPS, the state\u2019s largest district, is considering a \u201cbell-to-bell\u201d ban, which would prohibit all students at both district-run and charter schools from using their phones or other devices, including smartwatches and earphones, during and between classes. The ban would not apply if students leave campus during their lunch period.<\/p>\n

If the DPS school board approves the proposed policy Monday, the ban will take effect when school resumes in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cCellphones are the No. 1 disruption in the classroom,\u201d said Maria Falc\u00f3n, a DPS special education teacher. \u201cThere\u2019s just no control.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the past, DPS left it up to leaders at each of the district\u2019s nearly 200 schools to decide how to handle smartphones in their buildings. Most have allowed some level of use, but others, such as Marie L. Greenwood Early-8, have prohibited students from using their phones on campus for several years. <\/p>\n

DPS is creating a districtwide smartphone policy to comply with a new state law, but the district would be going a step further than required by banning the devices in school buildings. The law requires K-12 systems to adopt a policy governing cellphone use by July 1, but doesn\u2019t mandate that they ban or limit the devices in school.<\/p>\n

Cellphone bans have varied across the state. The Boulder Valley School District adopted one of the state\u2019s first bans in 2019 when the district prohibited elementary- and middle-school students from using their phones during school hours. The ban has since been expanded to high schools.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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The DPS school board is moving toward banning cellphones across the entire school day because parents and teachers have made it clear they want a districtwide policy, director Marlene De La Rosa said Friday. <\/p>\n

Many schools already have mechanisms in place to limit cellphone use in their buildings. Some require students to put their devices in locked pouches when they enter the building or place them in buckets during class.<\/p>\n

Under DPS\u2019s proposed policy, staff at each school would determine how to enact and enforce the ban, De La Rosa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they have something that is working, that\u2019s all on the administrative side for the superintendent to work with the school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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The policy the board will vote on is similar to a recommendation made by an advisory committee. Falc\u00f3n, who served on the committee, said the recommendation for an all-day ban on phones developed because of how difficult it is for staff to respond to student conflicts online.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be completely gone,\u201d she said of phones. \u201cSocial media, in conjunction with the cellphones, is just madness.\u201d<\/p>\n

DPS parents and other community members largely support a policy that limits cellphone use in school, according to a recent district survey.<\/p>\n

Read more Man shot, killed in northwest Aurora alley after argument<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 80% of community members contacted by DPS supported prohibiting cellphones in class, while 64% of them approved of an all-day ban in middle and high schools, according to a presentation given to the school board during a Thursday meeting. <\/p>\n

Parents and school employees were more likely to favor cellphone bans than students were, according to the survey results.<\/p>\n

Lundynn Estrada, a junior at the Denver School of the Arts, said she opposes an all-day ban because she worries about not being able to contact her mom during the school day, including in the event of a school shooting or other emergency <\/p>\n

\u201cI just worry about the safety of my peers as a student,\u201d the 15-year-old said. \u201c\u2026I understand some of the benefits of it. I don\u2019t really see the potential in it in terms of safety.\u201d <\/p>\n

Students also need their phones when they leave campus for lunch, said 16-year-old Aaliyah Garcia, adding that she and her peers use the devices to pay for food. She supports schools restricting phones in the classroom, but thinks students should be able to use their devices during passing periods and lunch. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe that phones are a necessity in this day and age,\u201d said Garcia, a junior at CEC Early College. \u201cEverything is just digital now and not everywhere is safe.\u201d <\/p>\n

The teenager said phones aren\u2019t the distraction teachers often make them out to be and that, in her experience, most students are not on their phones during lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne rotten apple will ruin the whole batch, kind of thing,\u201d Garcia said of students and cellphones in class.<\/p>\n

De La Rosa, the board member, said the district will monitor the all-day cellphone ban and make changes if needed.<\/p>\n

Advocates for cellphone bans say such prohibitions will help combat cyberbullying and mental health illnesses in youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cCellphones are harmful in the learning environment,\u201d said Joshua Ewing, executive director of Healthier Colorado. \u201c\u2026The phones should go away and they should stay away until they leave the school.\u201d <\/p>\n

A recent by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that when schools require students to put away their phones, their usage of the devices falls, but disciplinary actions initially increase \u2014 and test scores don\u2019t improve.<\/p>\n

But, Ewing said, the benefits of cellphone bans extend beyond academics as students are more likely to socialize with each other when their devices are put away.<\/p>\n

\u201c(School is) where we learn to develop social bonds with our peers, to navigate conflict,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is something that is lost if our students are constantly scrolling on TikTok or Instagram during the school day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more 2 inmates killed, 1 injured in \u2018incident\u2019 at Colorado prison<\/a><\/p>\n

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more As America 250 approaches, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, poll finds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denver Public Schools is set to become the latest K-12 system in Colorado to ban students’ use of cellphones during school hours, with the Board of Education likely to give final approval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDenver Public Schools poised to ban cellphones across district - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1340\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Denver Public Schools poised to ban cellphones across district - 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