Lompoc Unified School District

Impact on Learning

• 76% say phones hurt learning "a great deal" or "hurt some"
• 85% say phones hurt learning in some way (including "a little")

Distraction

• 58% rate phones as "very" or "extremely" distracting during instruction
• 72% rate them as distracting in some meaningful way (very/extremely/somewhat)

Non-School Use During Class

• 53% say students use phones for non-school purposes frequently or almost all of the time
• 71% say it happens at least sometimes

Contribution to Specific Problems

• 60% say phones contribute to student anxiety/mental health at a high or very high level
• 54% say phones contribute to bullying/social media spillover at a high or very high level
• 48% say phones contribute to loss of instructional time at a high or very high level

Policy Clarity & Enforcement

• Only 15% rate the current policy as "very" or "extremely" clear
• 28% say enforcement is not consistent at all or only slightly consistent
• Only 35% feel "very" or "completely" supported by administration when enforcing expectations

Preferred Approach

• 31% prefer a full school-day restriction; 12% prefer instructional time only
• Top implementation choices: off and away (27%), full school-day restriction (22%), locked pouch (17%), classroom caddies (15%)

Phone Ownership & Use

• 96% have a cell phone; 94% have a smartphone with apps and internet access
• 95% bring their phone to school
• 70% use their phone for personal reasons (social media, talking to friends) while at school

Time on Phone During School Day

• 23% spend 0-15 minutes; 25% spend 15-30 minutes; 30% spend 30 min to 1 hour
• 22% spend 1 hour or more on their phone during the school day

Parent Contact During School

• 73% feel they can contact their parent in a timely manner during the school day
• 56% say parents contact them 1-3 times per day; 22% say zero times

FOMO

• 35% agree or strongly agree they worry about missing out when they don't have their phone
• 35% are neutral; 29% disagree

Current Policy

• 86% say their school has a phone policy
• Enforcement: 42% say always enforced, 44% sometimes, 11% rarely, 3% never
• 20% say half the class or more uses phones when they shouldn't

Policy Preferences

• 43% want less restrictive policy; 37% say it's just right; only 4% want stricter
• 36% are very or mostly satisfied with the current policy; 26% are not satisfied

Phone Ownership

• 72% of families say their child has a cell phone
• 66% say their child brings it to school

Parent-Child Contact During School

• 62% contact their child 0-2 times per day during school; 8% contact them 3-5 times
• Asked: "Do you feel you can reach your child in a timely manner during the school day when needed?"
  • Yes: 59%
  • I've never needed to: 8%
  • No: 10%
  • Yes + Never needed combined: 67%

Phone-Related Conflict at Home

• 28% say conflicts related to phone use happen sometimes, often, or always
• 43% say they rarely or never have phone-related conflicts

Observed Behaviors in Past 4 Weeks

• 44% say their child sometimes, often, or always ignores being spoken to while on a device
• 39% say their child sometimes, often, or always rushes through tasks to get back to their phone
• 47% say their child sometimes, often, or always sleeps with their phone in the bedroom

Parental Anxiety

• 29% have felt unable to control aspects of their child's safety at school at least sometimes
• 22% have felt nervous or stressed about not being able to communicate with their child during school hours at least sometimes
• 78% say that stress happens rarely or never