I'm as baffled as you 2...
A smartphone is a toy for a kid up to high school ( unless emancipated and out of the house on their own like college and university students ), toys were confined to the locker back in my days and smartphones should also be, doubly so.
I'd allow checking for messages between classes at the locker only, and only calls for logistics with parents and relatives, calls confined at the locker too, no moving around with it, taking pics, anything of the sort, walking the corridors outside of the hours where you leave or come in is prohibited, and only in the backpack is allowed, not in their hand.
Smartphone is confined to the locker during lunch hours if the kid has to stay at school for lunch. Kid is only allowed to check messages and make calls when they go get their lunch and when they store the container in the locker after and only for a few minutes, no smartphones during lunch hours other than at the locker location and only for the few minutes necessary for messages and calls logistics.
At any violations it would be confiscated until the end of day with a reprimand.
If enough reprimands are registered ( 3 to 5 sounds fair ), that kid is henceforth banned from taking the smartphone to school altogether, they have to leave it at home, zero exceptions.
If that rule is disregarded, the smartphone is confiscated UNTIL THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR OR X-MAS's BREAK, whichever comes first, if it's x-mas's break and they return to school with it again after it, confiscated again until end of the school year.
Parents, and only parents, can appeal to the school to recover the phone before the end of the school year and only 1 appeal can be successful during a year. If afterwards the student brings it back at school, confiscated until the end of year without any more appeals possible.
Any other rules I would judge way too permissive for what is essentially a toy at that age.
Allowing only to check for messages and calls between classes is more than enough to coordinate with parents and relatives for logistics.
This comment was edited on Sep 25, 2024, 15:20.