School districts across Oregon are on notice as of Wednesday that cellphone use won’t be allowed during the school day, come Jan. 1, 2026.
Springfield Public Schools and Eugene 4J School District said they support governor Tina Kotek, who signed an executive order Wednesday mandating the shift statewide.
“Educators across the country have become more and more familiar and knowledgeable with how devices, and the entire culture around being connected and being online 24 hours a day, has impacted the latest generations of children, and it’s something that is a serious concern,” 4J Director of Communications Kelly McIver said. “We can see how it affects their distraction level, their ability to focus.”
Both districts said they’re awaiting policy guidance from the state to lead the way in crafting their own specific policies.
“We appreciate Governor Kotek’s leadership when it comes to maintaining safe classrooms throughout the state, and including here at Springfield Public Schools,” SPS Director of Communications Brian Richardson said. “It’s always a priority for us to have schools and classrooms. As we look for this guidance, the policy guidance around cellphones — electronic devices — that’s really what we’re looking for, is what’s the difference between that guidance and what we currently have in place.”
The executive order wages a fight against the impacts of social media on developing minds, aiming to decrease loneliness, depression, anxiety, and self-harm among young people associated with cellphone use, according to the governor’s office.
A Centers for Disease Control survey held between July 2021 and December 2023 showed children ages 12-17 spent an average of four hours or more a day on their cellphones.
Parents we spoke with said they are on board with the change.
“With my children, you know, at their age, I think technology, in a sense, pulls away from their childhood and… I want for them to enjoy more being a kid, instead of being caught up with the technology. But… I feel that with some parents, it’s also important to also keep track of their children,” Esteban Jordan said.
VOTE: Do you support a cellphone use ban in K-12 schools?
“I think it would reduce distraction in the school place and maybe, even, you know, you could hear about bullying in school and cyber bullying, and maybe it would help with that as well,” Lacy Dewolf said.
“Our family, we have five kids, and one of our biggest battles is with cellphones. And certainly it’s something that we think not only at home but also at school they should put some kind of limitation,” Alex Yeung said.
SPS currently has limits on cellphone use, and 4J said elementary and middle schools already operate under this policy, but it will be high schools that will see a change as students are currently able to use phones between classes.
Pushback from parents is already anticipated, McIver said.
“I mean, for one, this is America in 2025. You’re always going to find folks who have strong sentiments about just about anything, and it’s pretty typical that generally folks don’t like to be told what to do, especially if it’s something that has otherwise been something that they’re used to doing,” he said.
4J said it may be possible to implement the new policy by the start of the school year, making it easier to adapt rather than changing things up in the middle of the year.
While Jan. 1 is the effective date, policies must be adopted by Oct. 31.