Brief provides guidance on school cell phone policies Cell phones can be a distraction or a valuable asset in the classroom, and a risk or a benefit to student mental health according to a new brief that dives into the latest research on the effects of cell phone use on learning and youth well-being.

The brief from the UC|CSU Collaborative for Neuroscience, Diversity, and Learning and UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools examines the research on student cell phone use, explores how local, state and national policies are shaping its use in classrooms, and makes recommendations for K-12 leaders for developing and implementing school cell phone policies.

The omnipresence of cell phones — 43 percent of students ages 8-12 and 88 percent of students ages 13-18 have one — is affecting the development of young people, according to the authors.

“Cellphones have become a constant companion in the lives of young people. While cellphones offer valuable opportunities for learning and connection, the pressure to manage online and offline social interactions has led to excessive use. This, in turn, has disrupted learning, impacted youth well-being, and intensified challenges like bullying, distractions, and device addiction,” according to the brief. “Research suggests adolescents may be particularly susceptible to these cellphone-related risks compared to children or adults. During adolescence, brain and behavioral changes heighten sensitivity to peer influence and social rejection, while at the same time, underdeveloped impulse control makes it difficult to resist short-term rewards, despite negative longer-term consequences.”

The brief examines how cell phone use impacts youth in four areas:

• Divided attention in learning environments.
• Health and well-being.
• Social and emotional development in the digital age.
• Safety across online and offline environments.

Each area has implementation tips for school administrators, educators and school staff on how to support healthy cell phone habits. Recommendations include how policies impact students with disabilities and issues around equity and access.

The brief analyzes various school cell phone policies, from the least restrictive (cell phones are used for learning only) to the most restrictive (cell phones are locked in a secure location upon arrival to school). The researchers convey what the policies look like in practice, how they align with the research, and challenges that come with implementing them.

The brief also contains a guide on creating a school district cellphone policy, with action steps and guiding questions for each phase of development and implementation. California is among 17 states that require schools to have cell phone policies at the local level.

Read the full brief at content.acsa.org/strengthening-k-12-cellphone-policies.

Thurmond announces literacy ‘moonshot’ for California On Jan. 8, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced his literacy moonshot, a five-year plan to close the third-grade literacy gap. The plan contains key strategies that are proven to improve literacy and would represent the most significant investment and the first long-term plan for literacy in recent California history. The plan seeks to support all California students to achieve literacy by third grade.

Superintendent Thurmond’s literacy moonshot includes funding for:

The plan also includes legislation sponsored by Thurmond to make attending kindergarten mandatory for all 5-year-olds across the state. This effort aligns with Thurmond’s call to expand funding for the California Community Schools Partnership Program.

Thurmond and the California Department of Education are pursuing resources to implement the literacy moonshot with the governor and the Legislature. For several years, California has made investments to improve literacy and has seen modest, steady growth in literacy rates as a result. California has never funded a comprehensive statewide plan as other states have — many of which have seen dramatic boosts in literacy as the result of a statewide, comprehensive approach.

Golden State grant program boosts teacher candidates More than 28,000 aspiring educators have taken advantage of the Golden State Teacher Grant program since its inception, according to a new study.

In November, the Learning Policy Institute released an analysis of the program, which launched in 2020-21 to ease the financial burdens of teacher preparation in California. Administered by the California Student Aid Commission, the grant provides teacher candidates and Pupil Personnel Services candidates with an upfront grant as part of their overall student aid package. In exchange, candidates commit to teach in a California priority school serving predominantly low-income, English learner or students in foster care. or a California State Preschool Program for two years.

Among the findings, the study authors said the program likely contributed to a 23 percent increase in the number of California-prepared teacher candidates who earned a preliminary teaching credential between 2022–23 and 2023–24. The grant encouraged thousands of candidates, particularly candidates of color, to work in high-needs schools, according to recipients who were surveyed.

The study also notes that 40 percent of Golden State Teacher Grant recipients were over age 30, suggesting that the funding incentivized individuals to leave other careers and join the teacher workforce.

Recipients also reported high financial need — nearly 60 percent of survey respondents indicated that they would have had to take out more student loans in the absence of the GSTG, and 42 percent indicated they would not have been able to finish their preparation without it.

Despite this success, lack of investment in the program may lessen its impact. The grant amount was reduced from $20,000 to $10,000 in 2024 and new funding in the 2025-26 budget will sustain the program for only one year.

“Stable long-term funding will allow the GSTG to continue making a strong contribution to California’s supply of fully prepared educators,” the authors note, adding that multiyear funding and consistent program administration would help educator prep programs to promote and implement the program more effectively.

Read the full study at https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/ca-golden-state-teacher-grant-program-report.