(WXYZ) — Cell phones have become part of daily life, but there's a growing debate about if they should be allowed in schools.
A new program in Connecticut is showing one way to make a cell phone ban work without taking the phone away.
It's similar to what you might see at a concert or a comedy show. Kids can either leave their phone at home or lock it in a pouch.
Students would be able to hold onto the pouch but couldn't access the phone until it's unlocked at the end of the day.
This kind of idea got a lot of people talking in metro Detroit, and we wanted to know how they feel.
Diane Hodson and Juanita Gilbert are both former Clarkston school bus drivers.
"It's communication and parents are communicating with their kids, and I think it is just what we're accustomed to, and I don't want to go backwards," Hodson said.
"I think I grew up without a cellphone at all so I think it's over, overrated to have it on you at all times," Bill Wischman said.
"I think it's good for emergencies we're all so used to being in touch with each other immediately but it away during class," Denise Ellsworth said.
"I think they could use them as long as they follow the rules and aren't playing games during class time and stuff like that," Gilbert added.
"I know they're distracted at home, they're always on their phones so I would imagine if they have their phones in school that it's a distraction as well," Wischman added.
"I think it starts with being a responsible parent, setting down boundaries conditions for your kid with the phone. When you're going to use it and when you're not," Dennis Firestone told us.
"During the day it should be on silent but if mom and dad need to get ahold right away, ya know it could vibrate or something and they could look real quick," Gilbert said.
