Instead of Banning Cellphones in School, Our Connecticut District Embraced Them

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To many teachers and administrators, the biggest enemy of education sits in the pockets and backpacks of their students. Viewed as a classroom distraction, cellphones have been banned in K-12 districts across the country, ensuring that social media and artificial intelligence apps are inaccessible during the school day.

While the intentions behind the bans are understandable, are schools unknowingly holding back students in the long run? 

At Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut, we were frustrated by our students’ growing dependency on their cellphones and the potential misuse of AI and other tech tools. But Meriden is also a district that pioneers innovation by embracing new technology and teaching methods. 

The reality is, technology isn’t going away — it’s only going to become more prominent in students’ everyday lives. According to the 2025 Future of Jobs report, AI and technology are  expected to transform 86% of businesses in the next five years, making digital literacy a must-have skill for tomorrow’s workforce. As district administrators, we held the responsibility to foster responsible, productive digital citizens in our hands. We just had to find the right balance between traditional and tech-reliant learning.

The district’s acceptable-use policy provides a solid framework that encourages the responsible use of all technologies while allowing administrators the flexibility to pilot new tools. To help teachers and staff navigate the ever-changing AI landscape, our school leaders and instructional technology team created a library of documents and guidelines, including AI FAQs and an academic honesty and integrity checklist to use with students.

In addition, ensuring the effective use of technology has meant expanding our digital citizenship curriculum. All Meriden students complete grade-appropriate lessons each year, which cover topics including online safety, cyberbullying and how to build a positive online profile. While younger pupils participate in offline simulations to learn about the responsible use of social media in the future, older students can take classes in digital photography, video production and other tech-related topics.

Refining our technology guidelines required us to revisit our cellphone usage rules. With millions being spent on “bell-to-bell” school phone bans, Meriden chose to take the opposite approach. School leaders realized that it’s not the device that matters, but quick and easy access to high-quality digital content. Meriden students have always been able to access digital curriculum through their Chromebooks in the classroom, but they prefer the convenience and familiarity of their smartphones.

So rather than sitting in a pouch all day, cellphones are now being used as learning tools. Meriden students use their phones to create photos, audio recordings and videos to demonstrate learning, monitor assignments and grades in PowerSchool, and regularly communicate with teachers, counselors and coaches through ParentSquare. They also rely on their phones to access critical AI learning tools, including Gemini, which generates personalized study guides and practice questions, and the AI Chat for Securly Filter that teaches ethical digital practices and allows them to conduct research in a controlled environment.

To promote the effective use of AI, cellphones and social media, the district provides educators  with training on integrating technology into learning and student data privacy. While teachers can request that  phones be “off-and-away” during class time, many have made them a part of their lessons. For instance, in math classes, students are encouraged to take photos of the examples and use them as guides when solving complex problems. In dual-enrollment public speaking classes, students record their speeches, which helps them work on timing, pacing and delivery.  Similarly, in physical education classes, students use their phones to demonstrate proper form and receive feedback on personalized workouts.

Embracing technology allows educators the flexibility to facilitate small-group instruction during class time. While one group of students learns alongside the teacher, their classmates work on digital content at their own pace and grade level with a virtual tutor such as ST Math and Freckle.

Tools like MagicSchool AI have also helped educators automate daily tasks, such as generating rubrics and creating learning materials, while NoRedInk streamlines the grading process, alerts teachers when students are copying and pasting text rather than doing original writing and helps ensure that they receive targeted, personalized instruction. Now, teachers can spend more time interacting with students and less on administrative duties.

As new tools and policies are implemented, the district has continued to keep parents in the loop with information sessions and regular communication. That open dialogue has prevented the pushback many districts have received. Most parents have been receptive to our “off-and-away” cell phone policy, not just from a safety aspect, but an educational one as well.

AI is already reshaping tomorrow’s workplace, and for the sake of students’ success, schools have to take the fear out of technology. Administrators should feel empowered to try different tools, show educators how AI can assist them in their daily operations and design curriculum that thoughtfully incorporates new technology. 

School leaders must do more than equip students with digital literacy skills — they need to teach them how to use digital tools appropriately and responsibly, to be good stewards of technology. There’s power in those cellphones sitting in students’ pockets and backpacks. It’s up to educators to get them to use it the right way.

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