The Vancouver school board on Tuesday considered a districtwide policy to restrict students’ cellphone use at school.

In August, state schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal published guidance for districts and called upon them to adopt policies to reduce cellphone distraction by the start of the 2025-26 school year.

“This has been a yearlong process of doing some research, listening to our advisory groups, just kind of trying to really get this right,” Vancouver Superintendent Jeff Snell said during Tuesday’s board meeting. “We know there’s not a silver bullet answer for this. It’s just something in our society that we wrestle with.”

Vancouver’s proposed policy states that personal electronic devices (phones, iPads, headphones, gaming devices, etc.) must be off and away at all times throughout the school day for elementary school students. For middle and high schoolers, personal devices must be off and away during all instructional times. Students may be required by some staff to place phones in pouches or storage bins during class, according to the policy draft.