The Bristol Warren Regional School District is showing the courage to do what few other districts have been willing to – restricting student cell phone use during the school day.

At its most recent meeting, the school committee approved the first reading of a policy that would require cell phones to be powered down and put away. The policy extends to smart watches, ear buds and headphones that connect to cell phones. Hopefully the committee and the district will take the next bold step and fully adopt the proposal as policy.

Cell phones are pervasive, distracting and addictive, for both children and adults. There are myriad wonderful benefits to the phones and the worlds of information and communication they unlock, but throughout the course of a seven-hour school day they can be used for cheating or bullying; they can subvert every teacher’s lessons; they can undermine every form of student learning; they can subvert basic education.

A handful of school districts have taken this step. It’s encouraging to see Bristol Warren may do the same.