News Update

Santa Barbara Unified bans cellphones, other devices

Students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District are no longer allowed to access cellphones, smart watches or headphones during classes, according to sanluisobispo.com.

To comply with a new district policy, students must keep those devices in their backpacks, and some have already reported having devices confiscated, according to The Tribune newspaper.

ShaKenya Edison, Santa Barbara Unified’s superintendent of student services, told the newspaper that the devices are distractions. “The idea is we want young people engaged with each other, working on those social skills and competencies, and really plugged into the instruction that has been prepared for them to help them excel,” Edison said.

Santa Barbara Unified schools aren’t the only ones in California that have recently moved to ban cellphones. Bullard High School in Fresno also planned to ban cellphones this year.