01 · What to say

What to say.

When someone asks, here's the language. Words you can use as your own. Same message underneath, different lengths and different ways in.

The case, in different lengths

One sentence to two minutes.

A sentence for a quick text, three for a casual conversation, a paragraph for press or a podcast intro, and two minutes when somebody wants the whole thing.

One sentence

For a quick text or bio line22 words

Colorado parents are asking school boards for K–12 phone-free schools, bell to bell, away all day, districtwide. So kids can focus and find each other again.

Three sentences

For a casual conversation~75 words

Every Colorado school district has to set a new phone policy by July 2026. The version that actually works, the one backed by research and now used in countries like Norway, is K–12 bell to bell, away all day, districtwide: phones stored from the first bell to the last, every grade, every school, including recess, lunch, hallways, and passing periods. Parents across Colorado are asking their school boards to choose that version, so kids can pay attention, talk to each other, and grow up looking up.

One paragraph

For press or a podcast intro~85 words

Every Colorado school district has until July 2026 to set a new phone policy. Most are choosing between half-measures (phones in pockets, phones during lunch, middle school only) and the policy parents and teachers are actually asking for: K–12, bell to bell, away all day, districtwide. Phones stored from the first bell to the last, every grade, every school, including recess, lunch, and passing periods. The research is clear that this is the version that changes anything. Unplug Plug In is a coalition of Colorado parents, teachers, and partners asking school boards to pick the version that works.

Two minutes spoken

For an event, a podcast, or a school-board meeting~360 words

Every Colorado district has to set a new phone policy by next July. Most parents I talk to don't realize they get a say in how strict it is.

Districts are basically choosing between two versions. The first version is what most are leaning toward: phones away in class, but kids still have them in hallways and at lunch. Or it only applies to middle school. The second version is what we're asking for: K–12, bell to bell, away all day, districtwide. Phones stored from the moment they walk in until the moment they leave. Every grade. Every school in the district. Including recess, lunch, and passing periods.

The reason the specifics matter is the half-measure version doesn't really do anything. There's a Norwegian study that came out last year. It tracked thousands of kids in schools that went phone-free all day, and those kids saw less bullying, better grades, fewer mental health symptoms. Schools that just said "phones in pockets" or only restricted middle school got nothing. Partial policies do nothing.

And honestly, I don't blame the districts that are leaning toward the half-measure. They're worried about pushback from parents who want to reach their kid mid-day. That's the part where parents need to actually speak up. Because what teachers and parents who've been through this say is: there's two weeks of pushback, and then it normalizes. Kids start talking to each other again at lunch. Hallways get noisy. Teachers actually get to teach.

This isn't a left thing or a right thing. It's a pretty simple ask: let kids be present where they are, every day, in every school. Unplug Plug In is the campaign asking school boards across Colorado to pick the version that works. There's a 30-second draft email at unplugplugin.org. You can be on the right side of this in a minute.

Make these your own. Cut what doesn't sound like you. Keep the upside in front: focus, connection, looking up. The campaign pulls toward something rather than pushing against phones.

Talking points

Five things to remember.

A one-line version for a quick reply or a tweet, and a paragraph version for an email, a podcast, or an op-ed. Pick whichever fits.

Half-measures don't work.

"Phones in pockets" isn't a phone policy. It's a phone permission slip. K–12, bell to bell, away all day, districtwide is the only version that actually changes anything.

Most districts are leaning toward versions that sound reasonable: silenced phones, pockets only, phones at lunch, middle school only, opt-in by building. The research is clear that none of those move the needle. There are zero peer-reviewed studies showing that voluntary or partial policies change student behavior. The version that works (the one Norway studied, the one districts that have switched are reporting back on) is K–12, bell to bell, away all day, districtwide: phones stored from the first bell to the last, every grade, every school in the district, including recess, lunch, and passing periods.

A phone in the room steals attention even when it's not in your hand.

Even off and out of sight, a phone in the room pulls attention. Kids check their phones a median of 110 times a day.

The whole conversation gets easier if you understand this one thing. A silent phone in a backpack still pulls attention. Common Sense Media tracked teens for a week and found a median of 110 phone glances per day. We're asking 12-year-olds to focus through something most adults can't focus through. The point of bell to bell, away all day, isn't to take phones away. It's to give kids six hours where the pull just isn't there.

The thing kids miss isn't lessons. It's each other.

The classroom is part of the case. The bigger one is recess, hallways, and lunch — where kids actually find each other.

Most of the conversation about phone-free schools is about classrooms. But teachers in bell-to-bell, away-all-day schools say the bigger change is what happens between classes. Hallways get loud again. Recess looks like recess. Lunchrooms get their conversation back. The friendships that used to form in those margins start forming again. That's exactly what we lose when phones are allowed at lunch or recess. It's why "away all day" matters more than "phones away in class."

This isn't a left thing or a right thing.

A parent worried about screen time, a parent worried about focus, and a parent worried about kids' mental health are asking for the same thing here.

Phone-free school days are one of the rare issues where the political coalition is unusually wide. Parents from across the spectrum, teachers' unions, faith communities, public health advocates, tech-skeptical and tech-forward parents alike are landing in the same place on this. The reasons differ. The ask is the same. School boards are getting that signal from across the spectrum, and the campaign reflects it.

This is moving fast, and parents have a real say.

Every Colorado district has to set a policy by July 2026. The boards making the call are reading their inboxes.

HB 25-1135 requires every Colorado district to adopt a phone policy by July 1, 2026. The law leaves the specifics to each district. Boards are voting between now and the deadline, often after a survey window of just a few weeks. The districts that have heard from parents are the ones picking the stronger version. The toolkit and the campaign exist so the parents who care can be the loudest voice in the room before the vote.

Objection responses

The pushback you'll get, and what to say.

The five questions every parent asks. Calm, short responses. They mirror the FAQ at unplugplugin.org so the language stays consistent across the site, the kit, and what messengers say in person.

"What about emergencies, or school shootings?"

This is the question every parent asks, and it's the most important one. Schools have emergency protocols, classroom phones, and direct lines to parents. In an active emergency, a kid on a phone is harder to reach by the people in charge of getting them out. Districts that have switched are clear about this: phones away does not mean unreachable. Front offices have phones. PA systems work. Teachers have radios. The schools that have studied this, including the ones that have lived through real emergencies, are the ones implementing bell-to-bell.

"How do I reach my kid mid-day?"

You call the school's front office, the same way parents have for the last fifty years. Schools that go bell-to-bell make this part really clear: there's a number, it gets answered, your kid gets the message. What you give up is the ability to text mid-class. What you get back is a kid who can pay attention to the class.

"Kids will just find a way around it."

Some will, the same way some kids skip class or sneak vapes. That's not an argument against the policy. It's an argument for enforcement that works. The pouches, lockers, and procedures districts use are pretty good. The point isn't perfection. The point is the default. When the default flips from "phones allowed" to "phones away," most kids comply. The minority who don't is a discipline issue, not a policy failure.

"What about kids with medical needs or IEPs?"

Bell-to-bell doesn't mean phone-absent for documented medical need. Insulin pumps, glucose monitors, hearing aids, and 504/IEP accommodations are all explicitly exempted in well-written policies. This is a question districts already know how to answer. Don't let it become a reason to water down the policy for everyone else.

"Won't the kids hate it? Won't they rebel?"

For about two weeks. Districts that have switched are unanimous on the timeline. There's pushback up front, and then it normalizes. By the end of the first month, teachers report better focus. By the second month, students say they like lunch more. Kids hate change in the abstract. They live with the new normal pretty quickly.