Student cell phones can provide valuable communication capabilities, but their use can also create significant school safety and emergency response challenges.

During a school crisis, student cell phone use can distract students from emergency instructions, accelerate rumors and misinformation, encourage parents and others to rush to the school, complicate evacuation and reunification, and potentially interfere with emergency response.

The reality for school leaders is straightforward: Regardless of whether a school allows or prohibits student cell phones, emergency plans should assume that some students will have and use phones during a crisis.

National School Safety and Security Services has received inquiries about cell phones and school safety for decades, including after the 1999 Columbine High School attack, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and subsequent school shootings and other crises.

This page examines how cell phones can affect school safety, emergency response and crisis communications; how school policies have evolved; and what school leaders should consider when planning for the realities of student cell phone use.

Cell Phones During a School Emergency: What School Leaders Need to Know

Student cell phone use during an emergency can:

• Distract students from safety instructions provided by school staff and first responders.

• Accelerate rumors, misinformation and fear.

• Encourage parents and others to rush to the school during an emergency.

• Create traffic and human movement problems around the school.

• Complicate evacuation and parent-student reunification.

• Add communications demands during an already chaotic incident.

The key planning principle: Schools should plan on the assumption that some students will have and use cell phones during an emergency, regardless of the school’s cell phone policy.

On This Page

• Do cell phones make students safer during a school emergency?

• How cell phones can negatively affect school safety

• Cell phones, rumors and crisis communications

• Cell phones and everyday school safety

• Cell phones and technology as school safety communication tools

• Cell phone policies, restrictions and school safety

• What schools should include in cell phone and emergency plans

• Historical perspective on cell phones in schools

• Frequently asked questions

• The bottom line for school leaders

Do Cell Phones Make Students Safer During a School Emergency?

Parents understandably want to be able to contact their children during a school emergency. Students may also believe having a phone provides an additional way to call for help.

But simply having access to a cell phone does not necessarily make a student safer during an unfolding emergency:

• Student use of cell phones during a crisis can distract their attention from safety and emergency response directions being given by school staff and first responders.
• Cell phone use can also hamper rumor control and potentially disrupt or delay an effective emergency response. Messages, photos, videos and social media posts can circulate before accurate information is known.
• Student communications can also accelerate the arrival of parents and others at the school at precisely the time police, fire, EMS and school officials may be attempting to secure the campus, evacuate students, establish emergency operations or move students to another location.

This can complicate traffic management, emergency operations and parent-student reunification. In some circumstances, it could also bring parents closer to an area of potential danger.

Regular school telephone systems often become overloaded with calls during a crisis. Cell phones can be useful emergency management tools for administrators and crisis team members, but schools should not assume that cellular communications will always be immediately available or reliable during a major incident.

The issue is therefore more complicated than simply asking whether students should have phones available “for safety.” Depending upon how and when they are used, cell phones can potentially decrease rather than increase safety during a crisis.

How Cell Phones Can Negatively Affect School Safety

Student use of cell phones can affect school safety in a number of ways:

1. Threats against schools: Cell phones and related technologies have been used to make bomb, shooting and other threats to schools, requiring administrators and law enforcement to spend substantial time investigating and identifying those responsible.

2. Threats, bullying and fights: Cell phones have been used for threats against individual students, cyberbullying, instigating fights and other school safety disruptions.

3. Distraction during emergencies: Student use of cell phones during an unfolding emergency can distract attention from safety and emergency response directions being given by school staff and first responders.

4. Rumors and misinformation: Cell phone use can accelerate misinformation and rumors, making it more difficult for school and public safety officials to communicate accurate information during rapidly developing incidents.

5. Parents rushing to the school: Student communications can accelerate parental and community arrival at the scene at a time when officials may be attempting to secure the campus, manage emergency vehicles, evacuate students or move them to another location.

Cell phone use, texting and social media communications during a crisis can also complicate parent-student reunification. Parents responding immediately to messages from their children may arrive at the school when officials need them to remain away from the emergency scene or report to a designated reunification location.

Cell phones can therefore accelerate the unintentional, and sometimes intentional, spread of misinformation, rumors and fear.

Cell Phones, Rumors, Misinformation and Crisis Communications

School leaders should expect that rumors will move quickly during a school safety incident.

We have seen incidents across the nation where rumors disrupted schools and resulted in decreased attendance because of fears about rumored violence. Texting, messaging apps and social media can create significant anxiety and panic even when the underlying security threat is limited or nonexistent.

School and public safety officials should prepare for this reality before an incident occurs.

Six steps for managing rapidly spreading school safety rumors

1. Anticipate the problem. Assume that at some point your school or district will experience a safety issue or rumor that spreads rapidly. Identify in advance how you will respond.

2. Build redundancy into communications. Schools should have multiple ways to communicate with students, staff and families, including websites, direct communications, mass parent notifications and other established channels.

3. Establish decision thresholds. District administrators, building administrators and crisis teams should discuss potential scenarios and determine when an incident warrants expanded communications. Not every disciplinary or safety incident requires districtwide notification, but leaders should understand when a situation has become disruptive enough to require a broader response.

4. Coordinate school and public safety communications. School and police officials should communicate consistently. Major incidents may involve a Joint Information Center or similar coordinated communications structure. Even during lower-level incidents, school leaders and public safety officials should avoid sending conflicting messages.

5. Maintain a formal crisis communications plan and social media strategy. Administrators and crisis team members should be professionally trained to communicate effectively with parents, staff, students, the media and the broader community.

6. Prepare before the crisis. Today’s rapid communications environment requires school leaders to have a solid plan for managing fast-moving rumors, misinformation and fear around school safety incidents.

Cell Phones and Everyday School Safety

The safety discussion should not focus exclusively on active shooter situations or other major emergencies.

Cell phone use during classes and elsewhere in schools can create day-to-day educational, disciplinary and safety concerns.

Ringing or vibrating phones can disrupt classes and distract students from instruction. Text messaging and phones have been used for cheating. Students have used phones to photograph exams and to take inappropriate photos or videos of other students, including in restrooms and locker rooms.

Cell phones and social media can also facilitate intense cyberbullying.

In some cases, students have used phones to record, livestream, photograph or even organize school fights. The presence of an audience, including an online audience, can influence student behavior and expand the impact of an incident well beyond the students directly involved.

These issues reinforce why school cell phone policies should be viewed not only as instructional policies, but also as part of broader discussions about school climate, student behavior, supervision and safety.

Cell Phones and Technology as School Safety Communication Tools

Technology is not inherently the problem.

Cell phones, tablets, laptops and other technologies have become integrated into the daily lives and educational experiences of students. Schools increasingly use one-to-one technology and other digital tools as part of instruction.

Technology can also strengthen student reporting of safety concerns.

During our school security and emergency preparedness assessments, principals and other school leaders have described students using email, QR codes, online forms and other technology to report school safety concerns, tips and incidents to administrators, school resource officers, security staff, counselors and other trusted adults.

A number of school leaders have reported increases in student reporting after making these communication options more accessible.

The ways students communicate continue to evolve. Schools should recognize the reality of electronic communications while establishing clear expectations for when and how technology should and should not be used.

The goal should not simply be technology prohibition. It should be responsible use, clear expectations, active supervision and realistic emergency planning.

Cell Phone Policies, Restrictions and School Safety

School approaches to student cell phones continue to evolve.

Policies have ranged from complete bans to allowing students to possess phones while restricting when and where they may be used. Some schools require phones to remain turned off and stored during instructional periods. Others use collection systems or locking pouches.

In recent years, concerns about distraction, student mental health, social media, academic performance, discipline and school climate have generated renewed interest in restricting student cell phone use during the school day. State legislatures and governors have also become increasingly involved in establishing or encouraging restrictions.

Parents, however, may push back against restrictions because of fears that they will not be able to quickly contact their children, or that their children will be unable to contact them, during an active shooter incident or other school emergency.

Those concerns deserve candid discussion.

School leaders should explain not only what their cell phone policy requires, but why unrestricted phone use during an emergency can create additional safety challenges.

Regardless of the specific policy adopted, school leaders should:

• Put expectations in writing.

• Clearly communicate them to students, parents and employees.

• Implement policies consistently.

• Enforce them in a firm, fair and consistent manner.

• Explain expectations for cell phone use and non-use during emergencies.

• Integrate cell phone realities into emergency planning and crisis communications.

A written policy that says one thing while daily practice permits something entirely different creates confusion for students, parents and staff. Policy and practice should align.

What Schools Should Include in Cell Phone and Emergency Plans

From a safety, security and emergency preparedness perspective, school boards, administrators, crisis teams and public safety officials should have:

1. A realistic assessment of cell phone impacts

Discuss the impact of cell phones on day-to-day school climate, their potential adverse effects on security, and the ways student phone use could detract from an efficient emergency response.

2. Strong crisis communications plans

Schools should have crisis communications plans and social media strategies for managing rumors, communicating during security incidents and providing timely information to parents, staff and the community.

3. Emergency plans that assume phones will be present

Emergency plans should anticipate that cell phone use during a critical incident may accelerate rumors, encourage parents and others to rush to the school, create traffic and human movement problems, and complicate parent-student reunification.

Schools should plan for the behavior they are likely to encounter, not simply the behavior written into policy.

4. Clear expectations for students, parents and staff

Schools should communicate expectations regarding cell phone use during emergencies.

There should be candid discussions about how inappropriate phone use can interfere with school and first responder efforts to keep students and staff safe.

Students, parents and staff should also understand how responsible use, including choosing not to use a phone at critical moments, can help reduce risk and allow everyone to focus on directions from those responsible for managing the emergency.

Cell Phones for School Administrators and Crisis Teams

School leaders should maintain current cell phone contact information for administrators, crisis team members and other appropriate personnel.

At the same time, schools should avoid overreliance on personal cell phones as the primary means of internal emergency communication.

We frequently encounter administrators and safety teams who view cell phones as the easiest way to communicate during security incidents. But delayed messages, missed calls, poor reception, overloaded networks and other problems can undermine communications during time-sensitive situations.

Emergency communications should have redundancy. Schools should not build critical emergency procedures around the assumption that one communications technology will always work.

Historical Perspective: How School Cell Phone Policies Have Changed

For more than a decade, we opposed policies allowing or encouraging students to have cell phones in school.

On a day-to-day basis, cell phones were disruptive to the educational environment. This was also the general position of many school districts at the time. Changing policies under the premise that cell phones were primarily a crisis safety tool often appeared to be driven more by parent and student convenience than by actual school safety considerations.

Some schools initially banned pagers and later cell phones because of their association with drug and gang activity, as well as disruption to classes.

The focus on educational disruption eventually collided with another reality: Cell phones became commonplace in everyday life.

Parents increasingly lobbied school boards to change policies, often arguing that phones would make students safer in light of national tragedies. We continued to believe that school communities needed a clear understanding of how student cell phone use during a tragedy could actually detract from school safety and potentially create a less safe environment.

Technology continued to evolve.

Smartphones, tablets, laptops, digital learning platforms and other technologies became increasingly integrated into students’ day-to-day educational experiences. Email, texting, instant messaging and other forms of electronic communication became commonplace.

Having technology in schools as an instructional tool while simultaneously expecting to eliminate students’ ability to communicate electronically with one another and with the outside community became increasingly unrealistic.

School leaders’ approaches to cell phones consequently adapted, fluctuated and, in some cases, reversed course.

Schools moved from firm bans on pagers and cell phones toward more permissive policies as smartphones and other technologies became part of daily life and educational environments. Many administrators and teachers also found that spending the school day playing “cell phone police” created its own challenges.

The pendulum later began moving in the opposite direction as phone-related disruptions, social media concerns and student misuse increased.

Many schools continued allowing students to possess phones while establishing parameters for when and where they could be used. Others adopted storage requirements, collection procedures or locking pouches.

Following students’ return to in-person learning after the COVID-19 pandemic, interest increased again in stronger restrictions on smartphones and other unapproved electronic devices during the school day. That movement has continued, with school districts and state policymakers across the country reconsidering how student cell phones should be managed.

The technology has changed. The policy debate has changed. But the central safety question remains:

How should schools prepare for the reality that students may have immediate communications capabilities during an emergency?

Frequently Asked Questions About Cell Phones and School Safety

Are cell phones good for school safety?

Cell phones can provide useful communication capabilities, but simply having a phone does not necessarily make a student safer. During an emergency, inappropriate cell phone use can distract students from safety instructions, spread misinformation, encourage parents to rush to the school and complicate emergency response and reunification.

Can cell phones make a school emergency more dangerous?

They can create additional risks depending on how they are used. Student phone use can distract attention from emergency directions, accelerate rumors and misinformation, increase calls and messages, and encourage parents or others to approach an emergency scene when officials need the area clear.

Should students use cell phones during a lockdown or other emergency?

Students should follow the directions of school staff and first responders. Schools should establish and communicate expectations about cell phone use during emergencies before an incident occurs. A student’s attention during an unfolding emergency should be focused on safety instructions rather than texting, recording, posting or communicating information that may be incomplete or inaccurate.

How can student cell phones interfere with emergency response?

Student communications can rapidly spread incomplete information, generate large numbers of incoming calls and messages, cause parents to rush to the school, create traffic problems, and complicate evacuation and reunification operations. Phone use can also distract students from directions being provided by staff and first responders.

Should schools ban student cell phones?

Cell phone policies should reflect applicable state requirements and local school circumstances. Regardless of whether a school prohibits, restricts or allows student phones, expectations should be clearly written, communicated and consistently enforced. Emergency plans should still assume that some students will have access to phones.

How should parents communicate with children during a school emergency?

Parents should follow the school’s established emergency communications and reunification procedures rather than immediately traveling to the school based solely on a text, call or social media post. Schools should explain these expectations to families before an emergency occurs and provide timely, accurate information through established communications channels.

Should school emergency plans address student cell phone use?

Yes. Emergency planning should anticipate that students may have and use cell phones during a crisis. Plans should account for the effects of rapid communications on rumors, parent response, traffic, evacuation, emergency operations and reunification.

Are cell phones useful for reporting school safety concerns?

Technology can provide valuable ways for students to report concerns. Schools may use email, QR codes, online reporting forms, tip systems and other communications tools to connect students with administrators, counselors, school resource officers, security personnel and other trusted adults. These reporting capabilities are different from unrestricted student phone use during an unfolding emergency.

The Bottom Line for School Leaders

Technology evolves. Society evolves. School policies and emergency planning must evolve as well.

The school safety question is no longer simply whether students should or should not be allowed to have cell phones.

School leaders need to consider how student cell phone use affects everyday school climate, supervision, threats, bullying, fights, rumors, emergency communications, evacuation, first responder operations and parent-student reunification.

Regardless of whether school leaders formally allow, restrict or prohibit student cell phones, emergency plans should be designed on the assumption that at least some students will have and use phones during a crisis.

Emergency preparedness guidelines and crisis communications plans should be designed to manage that reality rather than assume it can be eliminated by policy.