As the 2024-2025 school year kicks off, many schools, including Cabot, are taking up grants from the state’s Education Department to implement cell phone restrictions in classrooms across Arkansas.
A mandate by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders now requires students to refrain from cell phone use in the classroom. As a result, Cabot High School asks students to put their cellular devices in caddies hung up by their teacher, which many students disagree with.
Student Success Center Office Assistant Deana Gray believes this new policy does more good than bad.
“I mean, it’s definitely a good thing,” Gray said. “I feel like it will help students focus in their classrooms.”
It’s not just office assistants who have seen the benefits of restricted phone time during school hours. English teacher Jennifer Riley is very enthusiastic about implementing this new rule.
“I love it,” Riley said. “I think it’s fabulous and I think it needs to be constantly enforced for the years to come.”
However, student’s feelings toward the new rules are not so cheerful. Senior Ethan Wheeler is finding it hard to understand the reasoning behind the new restrictions.
“I, for one, was able to keep my phone in my pocket and backpack without getting on it,” Wheeler said. “I don’t understand why we can’t continue the rules we had last year.”
