Phone Free Miller Creek Schools
Parents and community members working together, and alongside our schools, for school days free from the pull of addictive personal devices.
Why it matters
Smartphones are designed to capture attention. In schools they compete directly with learning and with the face-to-face connection kids need to grow and thrive.
Research links phones in schools to lower academic performance, more distraction and bullying, and rising anxiety and loneliness. When phones are put away for the entire day, schools report better focus, behavior and engagement.
What we're asking for
A bell-to-bell, off-and-inaccessible personal device policy across Miller Creek School District.
Elementary schools
Lucas Valley, Mary E. Silveira and Vallecito: a simple collection routine.
Miller Creek Middle School
Secure storage that keeps devices out of reach from first bell to last.
California law (AB 3216) already requires every district to adopt a smartphone policy. We're asking that MCSD's policy meet the stronger best practices that a growing number of states and districts have already adopted, with strong results.
How we work
This is a collective action initiative about learning during the school day. A shared, school-wide standard works best when families and schools move together.
And we want to work with our schools, not against them. MCSD's teachers, principals and Board share our goal of focused, connected, thriving kids. We bring research, precedent from districts that have already made these changes, proven implementation tools, and a community of families ready to help reinforce the policies. Our aim is to be a resource and a partner, and to help make transitions as smooth as possible for students, staff and families alike.
What do we mean by phone-free?
Any personal smart device (smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, earbuds, headphones) is off and inaccessible for the entire school day, first bell to last bell.
Adapted from the Phone-Free Schools Movement's definition.
Where we're headed
Personal devices are where we're starting, not where we're stopping.
Personal devices
Smartphones are the clearest first step: more and more children carry them at younger ages, their harmful effects on attention, wellbeing and social connection are well documented, and they have no place in the school day. With state law already requiring a policy and low-cost solutions proven in districts across the country, this is a change MCSD can make now.
School technology
Just as critical is the technology schools themselves put in front of students: school-issued devices, educational software (EdTech) and, increasingly, AI. How, when and how much these tools are used in school shapes how our children learn, and those decisions deserve the same evidence-based scrutiny. That conversation is underway and we're committed to being part of it.
California districts are already leading: in 2026, the state's two largest, Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified, each voted unanimously to scale back classroom screen time, including removing devices from their youngest classrooms.
Part of a national movement
We build on the research, tools and precedent of established organizations.
Phone-Free Schools Movement
National leader in bell-to-bell policy and implementation.
Visit →Schools Beyond Screens
National network for intentional, evidence-based classroom technology.
Visit →ScreenStrong
Research and education on kids, brains and screens.
Visit →ScreenSense
Marin-based guidance and collective action for healthy tech use.
Visit →Get involved Join →"We limit how much technology our kids use at home."
Steve Jobs, to The New York Times
Phone Free Miller Creek Schools is an independent group of parents. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Miller Creek School District.