Many students and staff at FHS can agree that with phone usage down, conversation levels have gone way up. Missouri’s statewide ban on student electronic use during the school day, officially known as Senate Bill 68, was signed into law by Governor Mike Kehoe on July 9, 2025. The law went into effect for the 2025–26 academic year and requires all public and charter schools to implement a written policy restricting cell phone use. Initially the phone ban caused a lot of upset parents and students, but there are definitely some positive outcomes as well.
Numerous Staff members have noticed increased conversation levels since the recent phone ban. Dr. Lindsay Kearns and Mrs. Peggy Harris agree that the phone ban and increased conversation levels are having very positive effects on students at FHS.
“Overall I think it has had a positive impact. I’ve noticed that we’ve had less students come in during the day that are getting mean texts.” Kearns added , “We pulled up grades and we have significantly less F’s in our school because students are more engaged in their work here at school as well. For the most part there’s not as much arguing and conflict throughout the day.”
“The rising conversation levels is definitely a positive because that’s a way to express yourself and not hide behind a screen.” Harris added, “They will do better in job interviews, because people will be more confident in interviews and talking to someone in person because they have already been made to talk to each other in school.”
Both Harris and Kearns agree that our school has definitely been way louder. They both see this as a good thing and are happy to see kids interacting with each other as well as their teachers.
Kearns stated, “It is way louder. I’ve noticed that during lunch it is a lot louder because they aren’t playing on their phones.” Kearns added, “Kids are interacting with teachers more and playing games in their free time and actually engaging with others.
“More conversations and instead of students being on their phones when done with work. Classes are definitely a bit louder which is much better than a silent classroom with kids staring at their phones.” Harris added, “This increase in communication is amazing.”
As a school counselor, Kearns gets a front seat on the mental health of students. She has had a few students report increased loneliness since the recent phone ban due to not being able to reach out to friends in other classes. On the other hand she has seen a majority of students feeling less alone since the phone ban.
“I have had some students report that they do feel more alone in classes without their phones. But I actually feel like for the most part kids have made more friends with people they wouldn’t have originally reached out to. But some kids did use phones as a communication device. But overall it is teaching people skills so it definitely is a positive thing.”
Overall the phone ban has caused a significant increase in conversation levels. Because of the recent electronic ban our school has seen more conversations, better grades, and less loneliness. Something that initially was seen as such a loss has turned into a lot of positivity.
