Smart Devices

HearMeWA, a statewide hotline and mobile app from the Washington Attorney General's Office, is for youth facing anything from food insecurity to social difficulties, suicidal thoughts or threats of violence at school.

A high school biology teacher in Arizona says he will not be returning to the classroom next year, in part because he found it so draining to pour his heart into students whose attention was consumed by mobile apps.

Apple Intelligence, the company's suite of AI features, can proofread and rewrite documents, generate images and emojis, transcribe phone calls and voice memos, summarize emails and lectures, and solve math problems.

An "away-for-the-day" policy, which required sixth-grade students to have their cellphones turned off and out of sight for the entirety of the school day, led to "less drama, less bullying and less harassment."

Chief administrator of Indian River Central School District in New York said he welcomes the idea of a statewide policy restricting the use of smartphones during class, which have become controversial and distracting.

Endorsing potential legislative action for the next session, Gov. Kathy Hochul suggested banning smartphones from schools, but possibly allowing cell phones that can send text messages and not access the Internet.

Moved by research into the mental-health effects of cellphone addiction in young people, administrators at Wilton School District in Connecticut will form a committee to discuss the idea of restricting phones in schools.

The state will require students to stow phones during class — a decision that comes as states across the country fight back against excessive teen phone use, citing growing research on its negative impact.

A new bill signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gives K-12 school districts until 2025 to craft new policies limiting the use of personal devices, and related distractions, in the classroom.

The most recent legislative session saw a bill requiring every school district and charter school to set cellphone use policies by March 15, 2025. Other bills aimed to forbid book-banning and study issues with attendance.

The Cuyahoga County Overdose Prevention App is designed to keep drug users safe by connecting them to someone who can stay in contact until they’re out of danger of overdosing. It was developed through a state opioid response grant.

The My Whitfield community mobile app offers details on area housing, careers and events as well as links to regional municipal websites. It was developed in partnership between the county, the city of Dalton, and civic organizations.

The government app — known as CBP One — has become part of the ongoing political debate around how the government is handling immigration, with advocates criticizing it as being prone to glitches.

A proposal at Worcester Public Schools in Massachusetts to allow students to keep their cellphones during the day but not use them in class for non-educational material has received both support and criticism.

There are more than enough studies showing the harmful effects of phone addiction on developing minds to justify imposing limits on using cellphones in school. Those who have done so are reporting all positive outcomes.

More than four years after it sold thousands of unneeded iPads to Cornerstone Technologies, Rochester Public Schools is suing the company for allegedly making late, insufficient or no payments.

Project Tomorrow’s 2024 Speak Up report found that many elementary students lack access to personal devices after school, while students at higher grade levels are not using technology much for collaborative purposes.

House Bill 485 would require students to keep electronic devices out of the classroom, with some exceptions, and require schools to adopt policies to govern Internet use and teach students about hazards of social media.