As the new school year gets underway, there will be one thing missing from some high school classrooms.
Fairhope High School is the first in Baldwin County Public Schools to institute a no-cellphone initiative, where students' cellphones are locked away at the beginning of each class.

Superintendent Eddie Tyler said in his superintendent's update on Sept. 3 that Principal Jon Cardwell told him school staff has had "very few (county them on one hand) discipline violations from this new rule."

According to Tyler, Robertsdale High School is implementing the same mandate "right now, and I expect we will see this at all high schools before the end of the year."

The National Center for Education Statistics says 77% of U.S. schools say they don't allow cellphones at school for non-academic use, but that does not include data on whether students are following the bans or to what extent schools are enforcing them.

Cell phone bans are gaining traction across the nation. After Florida became the first state to address cell phone usage in schools with a new law, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia have passed laws this year, and several others have introduced "phone-free schools" legislation, according to the Associated Press.

On Tuesday, the South Carolina Board of Education passed a policy that says districts "must ban students from using their cellphones during the entire school day," but those exact rules, procedures and penalties are left up to the individual districts, according to NC Newsline, which is part of States Newsroom.

Lockers, bins or cellphone pouches are ways schools are implementing the bans, according to reports.
AP reports while the bans are getting attention, teachers and others involved in education say more needs to be done to push student toward "alternative stimulation" such as extracurriculars and getting them outside, as well as offering teenagers and young children outlets to talk about issues and topics without being scared of "being canceled" on social media.

A Gallup poll conducted last year, reported by AP, shows 48% of middle or high school students felt motivated to go to school, and 52% felt they did something interesting every day.

"When I was first told of [the ban], I was told about the revolting and push-back we would receive, but ya (sic) now what? It hasn't happened!" Tyler wrote in his update.

He said he thinks students want a chance to focus and learn.

"Whatever the reasons, I am proud of them and am convinced if we can get them to lock up their phones in a black box for seven periods a day without a fuss, there is hope for mankind," Tyler wrote. "Bravo to our principals for implementing this on their own. That is great leadership."