Students might have to ditch their cell phones if the Denver Public Schools Board of Education follows a recommendation to adopt a bell-to-bell cellphone ban.

A Communication Devices Advisory Committee was formed earlier this year to comply with a new state law that requires school districts to adopt a cellphone policy by July 1. The policy must describe any prohibitions and exceptions, if any, for student use during the school day.

Directors Marlene De La Rosa and Kimberlee Sia chaired the committee, which was comprised of more than a dozen administrators, parents and community leaders.

The ban had wide support with committee members unanimously agreeing there should be no smart phones, watches, ear buds (that connect to a cellphone), non-issued computers or tablets during school hours.

“Students also acknowledged that putting phones away only for instructional time, which is the current approach in most of our high schools that do have policies, doesn’t actually work due to inconsistent enforcement,” said Sarah Almy Moore, a committee member.

The committee also recommended that adequate and secure storage be provided.

It’s unclear what the costs of implementing the ban will be.

Scott Pribble, a district spokesperson, said a budget hasn’t been set yet.

“The Board is developing the policy and then the Superintendent will determine how to implement that policy,” Pribble said in an email. “Once the details of the implementation plan have been finalized, we will know what costs could possibly be associated.”

Committee members also acknowledged the challenges emerging technology creates. The policy will likely need to be updated as new technology — think smart glasses — comes online.

“We’re looking at a policy that can outlast us,” said Nestor Bravo, a committee member and Lincoln High School principal.

Language for the proposed policy is expected to be introduced during Thursday’s board meeting.

Just last year, Boulder Valley School District banned cellphones from students at high schools. Cellphones were already banned in the district’s elementary and middle schools.

Boulder Valley School District Superintendent Rob Anderson at the time characterized the new policy as a culture shift away from an “over reliance on cellphones versus interaction with peers as a troubling trend that is affecting the mental health of the students we serve.”

About 90% of National Education Association members said in a recent survey that they support school policies prohibiting cellphones during instructional time.

In the wake of mounting evidence that cellphones can take a toll on students’ mental health and their ability to focus in the classroom, bans are proliferating in districts across the United States.

Roughly three in every four U.S. schools had a cellphone ban in 2020, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Educators and the unions that represent them have advocated for stronger and more uniform approaches that allow for more time teaching and less time policing students’ cellphone use.

Some experts concerned about the effect on school culture urge leaders not to implement overly restrictive policies.

“Teachers deal with cellphones all the time,” Rob Gould, president of Denver Classroom Teachers Association, has said.

The union represents roughly 4,200 teachers across the district.

“If the policy is absent, it’s more challenging,” Gould said.