Beginning Monday, Houston's Madison High School is set to ban cellphones following a series of on-campus fights linked to the devices. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) has taken a firm stance, requiring students to hand in their phones at the office at the beginning of the school day and only retrieve them at dismissal, a policy that sparked a student protest leading to a school lockdown on Friday. This information was released to the public by KHOU 11 following incidents involving cellphones at the school.
The tightened policy comes after at least half a dozen fights centered around cellphones were reported this week alone at Madison High. Videos of the altercations, including brutal beatdowns, made their way around, shared by students. In an interview obtained by KHOU 11, senior Amba Adoghe noted, "It was mostly the same people" involved in the fights. In resistance to the crackdown, students walked out, which led to lockdown by officials, underscoring the tension between student freedom and safety concerns.
The move is part of a broader HISD policy update enforced since August of last year aimed at reducing distractions and disputes caused by cellphone use on campuses. According to a report by the Houston Chronicle, the policy states that "Student use of phones during the academic day disrupts learning and instruction, fuels disputes between students, and undermines the culture we are working to create in all HISD campuses."
Despite the district's actions to maintain order, not all are on board with the restrictive measures. Veronica Vargas, the older sister of a Madison high student, deemed the policy "not fair at all," expressing concerns about the inability of parents to contact their children. Similarly, Amba Adoghe criticized the enforcement methods to KHOU 11, saying, “They are making a lot of rules that they don’t know how to enforce. They’re putting more restrictive, more oppressive rules that with stricter consequences that everyone knows is really not going to play out well.” HISD has yet to report on the effectiveness of the new policy, or the number of phones confiscated since its implementation.
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles has been in communication with school principals to ensure the new cellphone policy is strictly upheld. Extra HISD police are expected to be present at Madison High School to ensure the safety of students and staff in the wake of the new cell phone prohibition and subsequent student dissension.
