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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Cellphones can be one of the most distracting devices in our daily lives, especially for kids. Come August when your kids are heading back to their desks those phones must now be turned off and put away out of sight.

“I’m looking at what’s going on, I understand what they’re saying, hey maybe these kids can focus more and do what they need to do when they get to school,” said Dorris Dykes outside the Goodwood Library on Monday.

But keeping students off them might be harder than some expect. Kids often find a way to work around the rules when an opportunity presents itself.

“There’s many teachers who will monitor less than they ought to, judging by teachers I’ve had in the past, but I will say I know that it’s a good law,” said 25-year-old Jordan Holloway.

Holloway says he thinks the new law could help curb some of the bullying that happens at school.

“I do think it could help with bullying because a lot of it can go unnoticed due to its existence on social media and not everyone has access to that.”

The person behind the new law, Sen. Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton) says there is no actual punishment for schools who fail to enforce it. School leaders say systems across the state are working on how to enforce the new law.

The East Baton Rouge School System says they have updated and revised their student handbooks. They plan to bring their plans before the school board on Thursday for approval.

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