According to the Texas education code, it states that schools may charge the owner of the device or the student’s parent an administrative fee not to exceed $15 before the device can be released.  

Students’ phones are usually taken down to the business office when confiscated. Less than ten phones are usually confiscated a day; however, it can vary from no phones being turned in at all, according the the school business agent.  

According to students, they feel as if the policy is unnecessary.  

“I think that it’s stupid that we have to pay for our own property,”  sophomore Robert Luebs said.  

Students have argued that they could spend their money on more important necessities. However, depending on the district, they can choose whether they charge $15 or less.

“Oh, I have always thought the price for our phones should have been less,” sophomore Sofia Cruz said. “I feel like five dollars would have been decent, but $15?” 

“The money that goes towards paying for our phones, could be spent on food, or saved up for more important situations,” sophomore Makaela Carreon said.

Students are warned once or more than twice by teachers. If the student does not follow instructions, students have a chance of losing their phone.  

“In my class, my teacher warns us more than once, but people do not still listen,” freshman Ingrid Huereque said. “I never ran into that problem of worrying about my phone.”  

After the phone is taken, it would be brought down to the business office, where business agent Darcy Velasquez collects the phone. 

“I follow the school’s policy, and because I spend most of my time in my office. I have not formed an opinion,”  Velasquez said. 

There are situations where students can talk with administrators if they happen to be a special case, where they cannot pay to get their phone back or they feel their phone was taken without proper cause.  

Stated in EPISD Policy, phones are not supposed to be used from the beginning to the end of the school day.

“The first time that I heard that they were going to charge us $15 for our phones, I felt like the school was going overboard because we are always using our phones,” sophomore Matthew Reilly said. 

Opinions on the phone policy are split. Some students, like Sofia have said that the phone policy is not helping the students.  

“Taking away a student’s phone will only make them feel stressed out, especially if they were not distracting anyone or themselves,” Sofia said.

While students like senior Stephon Williams felt that the policy does not affect people like him.

“If they are not following the rules, they are bringing it onto themselves,” Stephon said.