Apache Junction Unified School District bans cell phones in the classroom for upcoming school year [Video]

APACHE JUNCTION, AZ (AZFamily) — Should cell phones be banned in the classroom? Starting next month, the Apache Junction School District won’t let students use their phones in class.

The school board voted earlier this month to ban cell phones in class for the roughly 3,000 students in the district.

“When I walk around classrooms with my building principals and what I see is that students are, you know, very much locked into their phones, not building relationships with their peers, not building relationships with their teachers, which is so important to improve the learning environment,” Superintendent Robert Pappalardo said.

When students in Apache Junction return to class on July 17, Superintendent Pappalardo said they now have to turn their phones off when they enter the classroom and keep them off throughout class. As for lunch and recess, he said that’s up to each school principal.

“For us to make progress academically, we need …