As of the 2024-2025 school year, THS has strongly supported a phone policy restricting personal mobile device use during class time across the school, enforcing phone boxes and even vaults under the pretense that students will thrive with a lack of devices. 

The Tahoma High School website explains that “the control center for impulse control, the frontal lobe, is not fully developed in school-aged children”, and that by leaving students to learn self-control themselves is “setting many kids up for failure”.

Educators at the high school speak in support of the policy, claiming that disconnecting from the constant digital presence has numerous benefits.

Students describe a variety of instances in which this policy is communicated—whether a gentle enforcement, or a whole presentation on the ‘need-to-knows’ of the policy.

But what do the students think?

The classes of 2028 and 2029, having spent all their high school years with the policy, have proven to be majority pro-phone policy. 

Vivian Young, a sophomore at THS, explains how “Phones are a constant temptation, and as a population we’re already on our devices [for] absurd amounts of time.”

Another sophomore at THS, concurs with Young, explaining how students “should be able to listen to music in class,” but shouldn’t “be able to use our phones during class time.”

This student explained that banning cellphones in class to the degree where listening to music while working in class is considered ‘a distraction’ is simply ridiculous.

However, Seniors and Juniors at THS have differing opinions, having spent their freshman and/or sophomore years without the policy.

Nishita Alla, a junior at THS, acknowledges that “phones are definitely a distraction”, but is resolute in the stance that, “Phones are a tool to be used, and we utilize these tools for everything, so restricting them is more of a setback than anything.”

Alla explains that even though Washington as a state is relatively safer than other states during the current political climate, the U.S. simply isn’t safe enough to have a phone ban policy.

With these conflicting views among the student body, it isn’t clear how this policy is going to change with national events or student input.

More details on the policy are linked below.

https://tahomahighschool.tahomasd.us/about/cell-phone-procedures