The Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233 Board of Education discussed a proposal on June 16 to install cell phone lockers in classrooms as the district prepares for a new Illinois law restricting student cell phone use during instructional time.

Superintendent Jennifer Norrell said the district has been discussing ways to limit classroom cell phone use for several years and recently began piloting classroom phone lockers during summer school. She said the proposal would place a locking phone storage unit in each classroom, allowing students to secure their phones during class while maintaining access to them during passing periods and lunch.

Under the proposed system, students would place their phones in assigned compartments at the beginning of class, remove a key attached to a wristband, and retrieve their devices when class ends. Norrell said the approach would help teachers avoid having to police student phone use while still allowing students to access their devices in an emergency.

District officials are piloting a plastic locker model that would cost approximately $29,000 to equip all classrooms. Norrell said the district would need roughly 185 units. A more durable metal version is also available but would cost about $187,000 districtwide.

Board members discussed whether to continue testing the less expensive lockers before committing to a larger purchase. Some expressed interest in piloting a small number of the metal units as well to compare durability and functionality.

Director of student support Jennifer Rudan said similar phone storage systems have been tested previously and generally have received positive feedback from teachers and students.

“The teachers absolutely love it,” Rudan said. “The kids, they really get used to it. They moan a little bit at the beginning, but they’re fine. They get used to the routine.”

Norrell said national trends have shown students often adjust to phone restrictions after an initial transition period. She added that the district selected individual locking compartments rather than a shared storage system because teachers expressed concerns about being responsible for monitoring students’ phones at the end of class.

No purchase was approved during the meeting. Following the discussion, district officials indicated they expect to return to the board’s July 14 finance meeting with pricing information and a formal proposal.

After the meeting, Norrell said the current pilot involves only a small number of lockers and that supporting documents have not yet been prepared because the district has not reached the purchasing stage. She said any future proposal presented to the board would include pricing information and supporting materials.