As schools get ready to open their doors for another year, the state Board of Education earlier this week approved a set of guidelines designed to help local school districts deal with personal technology use in classrooms.

The impetus for the guidelines came back in February when Gov. Ned Lamont, during his annual State of the State address, suggested kids lock away their cellphones during the school day. He said he received a lot of feedback after that address, which ultimately led to the guidelines passed this week.

“The state’s guidance provides a clear framework, but it is up to each school district to shape their own policies that meet the needs of their students and communities,” Lamont said in a statement.

Last year, Florida became the first state in the nation to adopt a ban on cellphone use in class. Connecticut is one of a few states that seem to be at the forefront of these kinds of restrictions.

As columnist Paul Choiniere pointed out a couple of weeks ago, state legislation may be the next step to give these restrictions the force of law. Enforcement can be tricky, but guidelines are at least a good start.

Both of Connecticut’s senators, Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, have played a lead role in trying to get Washington to act.

Earlier this month, Blumenthal, teamed with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to introduce the Kids Online Safety Act, which the Senate approved by a 91-3 vote.

Murphy, on the other hand, joined with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, in introducing the Smart Kids Not Smartphones Act, meant to encourage schools to limit smartphone use.

Both pieces of legislation come in the wake of U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s health advisory urging parents to set limits on phone use, among other things.

Also in Connecticut, a Manchester middle school began a pilot program during the last school year using Yondr pouches to seal students’ cellphones in the morning to enforce a ban during the school day.

A big part of the job for teachers and administrators has become trying to keep the attention of their students on schoolwork and not on cellphones that have become a ubiquitous way of life. Trying to keep students off their phones can be a constant battle that cuts into instruction and learning. It is, unfortunately, a part of the job description nowadays, and one that didn’t exist even 10 years ago.

Like police officers and firefighters, teachers live with the expectation that they will always be there, doing essential work. Adding another layer of non-instructional work is unfair to them, and unfair to the many students who willingly put their phone away for the day.

Technology should be embraced up to a certain point, but not when that technology presents an impediment to learning. We saw during the COVID-19 pandemic that iPads, chromebooks and other devices were essential to remote learning. But there is a difference between a device used for learning and a personal cellphone.

Parents may have legitimate concerns about reaching their child in the case of an emergency in the middle of the day, but schools can be phoned or emailed easily.

Anecdotally, most schools and districts that have some sort of ban on cellphone use during the school day have reported a couple of weeks of uneasiness among the students, but they are then able to adapt.

Anyone with a child of a certain age knows the perils of cellphone use. While they can be an essential tool for socializing in a post-COVID world, restrictions must be in place, both at home and in the classroom. As with anything involving children, the standard is first set at home, and parents should absolutely set reasonable guidelines for their children’s use of technology.

Parents may welcome guidelines that affect all students rather than having to tell their own children to put the phones away when classmates are using them. As of yet, the state has decided against legislating a cellphone ban in schools, but the guidelines are a good first step in the right direction.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.