OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Regional School Unit 23 Superintendent John Suttie, who also serves as the Old Orchard Beach High School principal, and Old Orchard Beach High School Assistant Principal Eric Hanson announced in a letter to parents dated Aug. 15 that the school was adopting “a zero-tolerance policy” with regard to cell phone use.

“The cell phone use issue in our school has become an obstacle to student learning and a disruption to the educational process,” wrote the administrators. “We have tried in the past to address the issue using half measures and no method of deterrence has been successful to our satisfaction.”

Under the new policy, students are not permitted to use cell phones during class, study halls or in the library. Cell phones can be used during breaks between classes and during lunch.

Cell phones must be turned off or silenced during class time, according to Old Orchard Beach High School’s policy. If a student pulls out a cell phone during class time the teacher will send the student to the office to hand over their phone, which the student may reclaim at the end of the school day.

After the second offense, the student will be sent to the office, where the phone will be taken away and only a parent will be able to retrieve it.

After the third offense, the student will be sent to the school office, where the phone will be confiscated and a parent will be required to pick it up. A meeting will be arranged with the student’s parents, and the student will receive an additional punishment, such as detention, in-school suspension or out-of-school suspension, at the discretion of the administration.

Schools across the state restrict cell phone use, but individual policies vary, according to information from the Maine Principals’ Association.

Regional School Unit 21 Superintendent Katie Hawes said Kennebunk High School instituted a new cell phone procedure last school year which has worked well for the school. The rule prohibits cell phone use during classroom time, but students can use cell phones between classes and during lunch.

Under the procedure at Kennebunk High School, a student who is caught using a cell phone during class for the first time will be told to put the phone away.

After the second offense, the teacher takes the phone away from the student, give sthe phone to the student after class and notifies a parent. After the third offense, the teacher sends the student to the office. An administrator takes the phone away from the student and a parent must pick up the phone at the office.

Hawes said that classrooms at the high school have a shoe organizer near the door, and students put their phone in a pocket of the organizer when they enter class and retrieve it when they leave class.

“They all have Chromebooks for class so there is no educational need to have their phones,” she said.

Thornton Academy in Saco states in its handbook that “cell phones should not be used, seen or heard while in an academic class.” Students at Thornton are allowed to use cell phone between classes, during lunch and in the lunch room during study halls. Violation of cell phone rules at Thornton could result in a phone taken away and given back at the end of class or school day.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.