The new districtwide phone policy states that we must have our phones off and put away out of reach during school. In some schools, this includes during passing periods and lunches. This is a SAFETY HAZARD to not only students, but teachers and staff. America has become far too dangerous with an uprising of school shootings for us to not only lack the ability to contact law enforcement, but the ability to contact our own loved ones. It is a sad, dark reality, but one we all unfortunately have to live in and take into consideration. There have been multiple school shootings throughout our country that have gotten police response BECAUSE of a student being the one to contact them and alert them of the situation at hand. Some students also need their phones for medical reasons, such as monitoring blood sugar levels and heart rates. To add, in the unfortunate event of an emergency in one of our schools, students should be able to update their loved ones and simply tell them they love them in a possibly life-threatening scenario. DOZENS of students are being refused their phones during emergency lockdowns without the ability to contact either law enforcement or their family when we DESERVE that right given all the hard work we put in as students. With all the hours we as students put into attending school, studying, doing homework, and testing, the least we can be given the ability to keep our phones on our person in the event of a sudden emergency. If a student is wrongly using their phone during instructional time, then of course further discipline is warranted, but at the very least we should be able to keep our phones with us at all times for not just emergencies, but for medical reasons for certain students.