Newark School Is Holding Tardy Students’ Phones Hostage: Reports

NEWARK, NJ — If you’re a student arriving late at West Side High School in Newark, you’d better be ready to surrender the use of your phone for the day. Administrators at the public school are “locking up” the phones of tardy students as a way of trying to change the habits of chronically-late learners, reports say.

So far, the seven-week pilot program has been “very successful,” school administrators told ABC New York.

Here’s how it works, NJ.com reported. When tardy students arrive at the school and pass through the metal detector, they are required to put their phones in a lockable pouch that keeps them from being used. School administrators then give the pouches back to the student, who is able to get the pouch unlocked at the end of the day.

The manufacturer of the security bags that West Side High School uses – Yondr – claims that the devices are used in about 600 schools, mostly in the United States and Canada.

Several high-profile entertainers such as Dave Chapelle and Donald Glover have also used the devices during shows, the company states.

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