Locking up students' cellphones? This Seattle school is about to try it

A Seattle middle school is launching a new program to crack down on students using cellphones in class.

When students head back to school in September, Hamilton International Middle School will require cellphones and other smart devices to be locked away in sealed pouches during the day.

The school's principal approved the plan Thursday. Other Seattle schools are expected to announce similar plans in the coming weeks, the school's parent-teacher-student association said in a news release.

The program will be funded by the PTSA.

"We heard from parents that use and abuse of cellphones during the school day is a top concern, and it draws attention away from academics," PTSA President Molly Branson-Thayer said in the news release.

Hamilton already has a policy asking students to put their phones away for the day. But in the fall, they'll start using locking pouches made by a company called Yondr. The California startup is raking in millions of dollars from a growing number of schools across the U.S. who are looking to prevent students from being distracted by their phones in class.

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Here's how the pouch program works. Every morning when students get to school, they'll turn off their phone and place it in their assigned pouch. It'll stay with students all day and can be unlocked by tapping a base unit as they leave in the afternoon.

In the news release, Hamilton Principal Eric Marshall said enforcement of the cellphone policy has become "increasingly challenging," and it mostly falls on him and classroom teachers. Marshall estimated he spends at least two hours every school day dealing with cellphone-related issues.

Marshall and the PTSA say they hope the policy — and the new pouches — will improve student academic performance, engagement in class, and mental health. They also hope it'll boost staff retention and prevent bullying and other disruptive behaviors.

The new program comes as Seattle Public Schools' lawsuit against social media companies continues.

As of January, more than 50 school districts in Washington state — and dozens of others throughout the country — had joined the lawsuit, which alleges social media companies deliberately designed their platforms to target and exploit minors for profit.

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