I'm a student who is currently attending PLSAS. My day at school is made incredibly challenging due to my sensitivity to noise. Like many others, I use my phone and headphones as a coping mechanism to block out the loud, sometimes overwhelming, noises during school hours. It also serves as my immediate contact to my parents, whether it's for them to pick me up quickly during emergencies or to express when I'm not in a good place emotionally or physically. 

Our future school policy prohibits the use of phones during passing times between classes. This not only prevents me and others from managing our noise sensitivities but also hinders us from communicating crucial messages to our families when we most need to. Taking into consideration the increased outdoor noise levels reaching up to 85 decibels during passing times(National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), this policy makes the school experience for noise-sensitive students remarkably difficult. 

We aren't asking for unrestricted use of phones. What we are asking for is a compassionate understanding of our unique needs and the granting of permission to use our phones as tools for navigation during our busiest, noisiest transition times - passing hours. We believe this small change will greatly improve the school experience for students like me while maintaining the educational integrity of our school. If you could sign it would be appreciated. for our school in this day in age, the technology is too high quality for us to not have phones allowed. Educators, please propose a different solution.