SAN RAMON, Calif. (KGO) — Wednesday marked the first day of school at Neil Armstrong Elementary School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District which is seeing more than 28,000 students come back to class districtwide.
Students at the elementary school were greeted not just by their new teachers and the principal, but the district superintendent.
“Our staff has been working so hard to make it a great first day and I just love this time of year,” CJ Cammack the superintendent said.
This new school year is bringing in new rules relating to cellphone use for students. Elementary and middle school students in this district can’t use their cellphones at all during the school day. High school students can only use them during non-instructional times.
“What we want to do is maximize the learning environment, and we believe that if we have phones away and powered off during that instructional time, then students can truly focus on learning,” Cammack said.
MORE: CA passes bill requiring schools to devise plan to ban or limit phones during the school day
Raul Carlos, a parent, said he’s not only on board with the cellphone policy, they started enforcing it in their own house with his own daughter.
“We decrease the time on screens and she’s been better. She learns to control her character better. She learns, she’s more communicative,” he said, “So I think it’s good.”
The policy comes after a statewide mandate that gave school districts until July 2026 to restrict or prohibit mobile devices during school.
MORE: Petaluma school district considers universal phone ban, but students not convinced it will work
In July, Petaluma’s School District officially banned cellphones at school for all students.
Elementary and middle schools there already banned the use, the ban goes up to 12th grade for the 2026 school year.
In the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, the superintendent is quick to point out that there’s no ban on technology in general, in fact they’re embracing it, especially at the high school level.
“AI is going to be a part of their future careers, jobs that don’t even exist yet. And so we think it’s really important for us to teach them responsible use and appropriate use, and how to use AI and technology to enhance and advance their learning and accomplishments,” Cammack said.
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