Communication Devices

Douglas County School District (DCSD) continues to examine the issue of students having access to personal communication devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches, during class. This has been a growing concern for several years, and district leaders have been carefully reviewing expert recommendations, practices in other school districts, and—most importantly—feedback from DCSD parents, students, and educators. Now, with the passage of a new Colorado law requiring all school districts to “adopt, implement, and post … a policy concerning student communication device possession and use during the school day” by July 1, 2026, the time has come for decisions. In Fall 2025, DCSD launched a community engagement process as the Board of Education works toward developing the required policy.

Project Reboot

• The Battle for Your Time: Exposing the Costs of Social Media TED Talk
• Parent Handbook

Additional Resources

• Do School Cellphone Bans Work? What Early Findings Tell Us (Education Week)
• Why Most Principals Say Cellphone Bans Improve School Climate (Education Week)
• Announcement: Instagram Teen Accounts Will Be Guided by PG-13 Ratings
• The Huddle: Newsletter from The Social Institute

Best Practices

Appropriate age for use of smartphones/social media

• Healthy Cell Phone Habits
• Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person’s Smartphone Use

Options/Issues at home 

• Expecting and dealing with Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
  • FOMO: other kids have a phone/social media/etc. and/or exhibit items or relationships that other kids want
• Flip phone vs. smartphone
  • Basic connectivity and messaging vs. full access to apps and the internet

If you choose a smartphone for your child: 

• How to lock down/monitor my student’s Android
• How to lock down/monitor my student’s iPhone
• Take your student’s phone at night 
• Regularly check your student’s phone
• Talk with other parents at school and/or your child’s friend circle about cell phone norms, pressures, etc. Small groups of parents taking action for a few kids can make a big difference!