Since the first generation of flip-phone-equipped teenagers, there have been clashes over bringing devices to school. Teachers protest the distraction potential. Parents claim the right to contact their kids directly at any time. Students can hardly imagine an hour without digital access. And administrators and superintendents worry about issues from falling grades to cheating to cyberbullying—and often want to eliminate these concerns by eliminating device use in schools.
No Texting in Class!
Now state governments are siding with the no-phones advocates. As of October 8, 2024, eight states had laws banning or restricting phone use in schools; and 19 other states were at the proposed-legislation stage or further along. So over half of U.S. states are now actively trying to stop indiscriminate phone use during school hours.
Which is a not unreasonable response to a legitimate concern—until it collides with students’ rights to equal education. Millions of public-school students use assistive technology (AT) to participate in class, read their assignments, hear/comprehend spoken instructions, or improve their concentration. And often, the best and most affordable AT is a smartphone app.
Guaranteed Rights and Individual Concerns
Where AT is needed for successful completion of work, bringing it to school is a reasonable accommodation and a guaranteed right. The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) notes: “It is imperative that as new state or local laws and policies are developed and implemented, that existing IEPs [Individualized Education Programs] and 504 Plans that provide for AT are honored and that the burden is not placed on parents to ensure that these existing plans are updated to account for any new policy. … In no instance should a student who is otherwise participating in the general classroom be required to be segregated or separated from their nondisabled peers to access their education due to a policy that would limit their access to AT.”
“I Say a Phone Is a Phone!”
So if your school district (or state government) bans personal devices, but your child has an IEP that recognizes the need for a specific app, they have the legal right to use that app in class—even if it’s on a smartphone.
Clearing individual technology for class use may be only the first hurdle. While some equipment is obviously AT and nothing but AT, one phone looks pretty much like another. And most phone use looks the same to casual observers, regardless of who’s using which app for what.
Cue the jealousy and peer pressure from phone-deprived classmates, the complaints when parents hear that so-and-so uses a phone in class while their kids can’t, the teacher concerns that kids with legitimate app needs will also sneak time on non-AT apps. From the National Disability Rights Network: “If a student with a disability is able to actually use a phone or AT device even where there is a ban and other students are unable to use them because of the ban, the student with a disability may feel ashamed, singled out, harassed because of using it, or reluctant to use the phone/AT device.”
Handling It Well
One option is to use a separate device with only the AT app(s) downloaded. It’s a possibility worth discussing with your IEP team, especially while considering what technology will be provided by the school itself.
Alternatively, you could set your child’s phone to block access to non-AT apps during school hours. In any case, make sure your child understands their responsibility to use the right apps for the right purposes—and to not use other phone functions in ways that interfere with schoolwork. Encourage them, also, to respectfully explain their disability and the technology to their teachers and peers. Students can be educators too.
It’s worth remembering that the purpose of education is to cultivate responsibility and skills—including the skills of relating to others, understanding a situation, and solving problems. Practicing these skills will serve your child well in the future, when they (and their AT) move on to higher education, employment, and independent living.
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