DES MOINES, Iowa — While a bill is not public for Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposal to prohibit cell phone usage during instructional periods for all public schools in the state, school leaders are ready for a look.

Des Moines Public School District used Hoover High School as a pilot program for what a cell phone policy would look like at a district level. The district’s specific policy consists of not allowing cell phone use during instructional periods, similar to what the governor outlined broadly on Tuesday. This policy was started in the middle of November.

The leader of Des Moines Public Schools said Hoover’s policy has been off to a good start, and it’s been a good indicator for how a district wide policy may work.

“Teachers have shared with us, and students as well, that it is now much more effective interactions with students during the instructional time,” said Dr. Ian Roberts, the Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools. “The Hoover High School rollout includes the fact that they have seen a significant increase in the number of students who are not only engaging in the school’s library, but who are checking out books, is something that they shared they haven’t seen in the last ten years.”

The Dallas Center-Grimes School District has a similar phone policy for during instructional hours, and the principal of the district’s high school said participation in the school library has increased by 30% year over year.

“We’re seeing less behavior issues with our students when it comes to disrespect towards teachers and towards peers in classrooms. We’re seeing more engagement in our classrooms,” said Travis Donahue, Principal of Dallas Center-Grimes High School.

Dallas Center-Grimes School District started enforcing its phone policy at the beginning of the school year in 2024; and Donahue said the first semester yielded great results along with improvements.

The Ankeny Community School District has a no cell phone policy on school property from the first bell of the day to the last. This is something that was started district-wide in the middle of October. School leaders there have been overjoyed with how the community has rallied around it.

“Even as we walk through the halls, we walk through the common areas of our schools, we’re seeing an increase in collaboration of our students. They’re engaging with one another, right, interacting, socializing,” said Dr. Amy Dittmar, Assistant Superintendent of Academics, Ankeny Community Schools. “So, not having that phone available during that school day has really decreased those distractions and really increased interaction.”

All three districts emphasized that whatever proposal does come from Governor Reynolds, it should give local school districts control of how the policy is implemented. Reynolds asked for a bare minimum ban of cell phones during instructional periods, which all three districts above have a phone policy that appears to match what Reynolds’ proposal appears to be.

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