OREGON – Governor Tina Kotek signed Executive Order 25-09 in July, prohibiting cell phone use during K-12 school hours across Oregon. The order aims to enhance student learning and mental health by reducing distractions.
Districts are required to adopt a policy prohibiting cell phone use by students by October 31, 2025, and those policies must be in full effect no later than January 1, 2026.
However, Hermiston School District Superintendent Tricia Mooney said the district is taking proactive measures to start the initiative early.
“We don’t want to wait till mid-year to start something,” Mooney said. “So we’re going to start things off at the beginning of the year with our kids, just to make sure that we’re starting to develop those habits.”
Instead of using cell-phone lockers, Hermiston schools will rely on student responsibility by expecting phones to remain in backpacks during class.
Mooney said high school students will face the biggest adjustment.
“It is teaching them like, shut it off, put it in your pocket, put it in your backpack, don’t have it out on your desk where you’re tempted, because when your cell phone is out, you’re tempted to look at it. We all are,” Mooney said.
If a student violates the policy, the order says students must not lose instructional time, which includes suspension or expulsion.
While some parents have expressed concerns about communication during emergencies, the district utilizes an app called ParentSquare to provide real-time updates.
“As soon as we have accurate information, we’re pushing that information out to our parents right now anyway, because we want our parents to have the most accurate information,” Mooney said.
Hermiston students will continue to have access to Chromebooks for interactive lessons and online research, ensuring that learning remains uninterrupted without cell phones.
More information about the executive order can be found here.
NonStop Local reached out to the Umatilla School District and Pendleton School District to learn about their plans for the cell phone ban, but did not hear back.
