The Etiwanda School District is cracking down on distractions. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, Superintendent Charlayne Sprague has initiated an official ban on smartwatches for all students. Cell phones must stay out of sight, and smartwatches are to be stored away in bags, not on wrists.

“We wanted to see this year. So this, I would call our ‘pilot year,’” Superintendent Sprague said. 

The state law requiring schools to restrict cell phones and smartwatches will begin July 1, 2026, but Sprague chose to enforce the policy early so the district could weigh the pros and cons of the ban in advance.

This “pilot year” is designed to test how the new rules affect learning. Sprague hopes to learn whether banning devices will actually change how students focus and participate in school.

“I was probably that first generation of parents who had phones and then started giving kids our phones. At first, they had the little silly ones that you had to text every number to get the message out. But then, they started getting our phones that could do more that were smartphones, and it was the same way with watches. They got whatever watch we ended up getting. Then it started coming into schools,” Sprague said.

As cell phones and smartwatches were passed from parents to children, simple communication devices became much more advanced. 

“Without knowing it, we inadvertently brought that technology into schools, and it was kind of like bringing poison into our schools,” she said.

As devices became even more powerful, they flooded into school life, distracting students from their education. Instead of supporting learning, these devices do the opposite. In more serious cases, technology has been linked to anxiety, depression, cyberbullying, and even suicide.

Teachers say the issue isn’t just about distraction, it’s also about misuse. While smartwatches can be useful tools, their abilities can be abused. “I’ve had a student that had the entire study guide on their smartwatch,” Mrs. Mares said when asked about incidents in her classroom. 

Teachers acknowledge that some students do use watches responsibly: for telling time or tracking steps. But the risk of distraction or cheating grows as the technology advances. 

“I get it, you guys use the smartwatches as a quick check for time and alarms but they’re so easily used as a cellphone, and they’re quick to distract,” Mrs. Mares said. 

This is a challenge that keeps evolving, and the school district is simply trying to evolve with it. 

“ I think we will be one step behind, but we will always be on the trail. We will always be working to improve and catch up. But it’s going to be a process,” Sprague said.