Mat-Su school board approves student cell phone ban

By Amy Bushatz on May 22, 2025

The policy bans phone use during all instructional hours, including lunch breaks.

PALMER — A new policy approved by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board this week bans students from using cellphones during all instructional hours starting next school year.

The rule is intended to limit distractions and improve student learning and social connections, officials said at a meeting earlier this month.

The policy prohibits most student-owned cellphone use throughout the school day, including during lunch and passing periods. It also applies to smartwatches with internet or messaging capabilities. The board approved the rule unanimously during a regular meeting Wednesday.

The new rule includes some exceptions. Phones may be used for medical purposes, as translation tools or during emergencies, according to the policy. School administrators may also work with the district to approve exceptions for educational use, it states.

Students will likely be allowed to access their phones a few minutes before the final bell to check for transportation updates from home, officials said.

District officials said a regulation outlining how the policy will be implemented will be developed over the summer. It will likely include rules for how and when a student can use their phone to contact a parent during the school day, officials said.

A previous policy prohibited phone use in classrooms but allowed it during breaks.

The updated rule is required under a state law passed by Alaska legislators this month. It is similar to a policy tested in a Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District pilot program during the 2025-26 school year.

The pilot began in early September at Palmer High School, Palmer Junior Middle School and Su-Valley Junior/Senior High School. It blocked phone use during the day and required students to store their phones in magnetically locked pouches that could be opened only when they left the building.

But administrators at those schools quickly abandoned the pouch system and chose to enforce the policy without it, district officials said. Teeland Middle School also joined the pilot program without first using the locking pouches, they said.

— Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com

Republished with permission from the Mat-Su Sentinel, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan online news source.