DES MOINES, Iowa — Back in April, Governor Reynolds signed House File 287 into law, requiring schools to create a policy restricting the use of electronic devices during instructional time.

It’s out with the new, and in with the old for many schools, as certain schools are now urging parents and students to revive some of their most basic school supplies now that phones are out of the classrooms.

In an email to parents sent on the first day of class, a math teacher at Van Meter High School wanted to remind students and their families that kids will now need to have a physical calculator for school, since they’re no longer allowed to use the calculator that’s on their cellphones.

The teacher goes on to say that if getting a personal calculator wasn’t an option for a student or their family, each secondary math classroom had a set of ten calculators to use during class.

“Hi all,

First of all – happy new school year! I’m very excited to kick the year off.

Secondly, I wanted to reach out regarding calculators this year. I believe a message was sent out last week at some point from administration, but I’d like to send a message out myself now that the year has started. Previously, students were allowed to use their phones for calculators, but that is no longer the case. So, we are asking that students bring their own handheld calculators to school. We understand that this may not be an option for everybody, so each secondary math classroom has a set of 10 calculators for use during class. But we do highly recommend getting their own so they can have the consistency of having the same device for in class and at home.

My recommendation is to get a Texas Instruments scientific calculator (link for model comparisons). The 30XS Multiview model is the one we have here in the classroom set, but any of the five models will work (except maybe the 30Xa model – only having one display line isn’t ideal for following steps). You should be able to find a calculator for $20 or less, up to $25 at the most for the more advanced models. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you”

As mentioned in the email, the teacher was recommending that students get a Texas instruments scientific calculator, and only advocated against the TI-30Xa model due to the singular display line that the calculator had, but said any other one would work just fine, with prices maxing out at around $25.