School is back in session across Oregon.
Some districts, such as Portland and Beaverton, returned last week. But early September marks the start of the new term for most public school students in the region.
This year, families and educators are paying special attention to two pressing issues: the state’s new cellphone ban and the unstoppable emergence of artificial intelligence as a force in education.
A Klamath County School District webpage explains the new statewide cellphone policy, which bans student use of personal devices from “bell to bell.” Aug. 25, 2025.
Maria Carter / JPR
Gov. Tina Kotek signed an executive order in July requiring Oregon school districts to enact bans on student cellphone use during the school day. The move came just after a bill meant to do the same thing died in the 2025 legislative session.
The governor’s order requires a “bell-to-bell” or all-day ban, but policy details are up to the individual districts.
Under the executive order, district policies must specify how personal electronic devices will be stored during the school day. The policies also have to spell out how school personnel should respond if a student violates the ban. School administrators cannot punish the student in a way that results in lost instructional time, such as a suspension or expulsion.
The order does allow some exceptions to the rule, including if cellphones are needed for medical reasons or to support students with disabilities whose individualized education programs call for smart devices.
Every district has to adopt a policy by Oct. 31, and the policies must be in full effect no later than Jan. 1.
Some school districts — including Oregon’s largest, Portland Public Schools — have already implemented policies. Others are playing catch-up and dealing with hurdles to get there.
Arguments on both sides of the issue have echoed at the local and state levels.
Proponents of the effort argue that removing cellphones and other smart devices from schools, even during passing and lunch periods, helps students academically, mentally and socially.
Some opponents worry the executive order is an overreach on individual districts’ control of daily operations, with no state funding to implement it.
And some parents have expressed concern that the ban will make it more difficult to contact their children during the day in the event of an emergency — an argument that resurfaced following the deadly shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota last week.
Schools search for control, clarity around AI
While smartphones are plain to see in students’ hands, artificial intelligence permeates the technological world in ways that can be harder to notice.
But like personal devices, AI’s effect on students and learning is powerful and not always positive.
Students and teachers already use a variety of AI tools on a regular basis. Basic forms of AI include things like spellcheck, facial recognition and voice assistants. You may use the AI summary at the top of your Google search.
When it comes to education, the biggest academic debate usually centers on generative AI, which creates new content based on large datasets — think ChatGPT.
While some view this as an innovative, time-saving tool, others believe it will be used as a crutch or a means for students to have a computer do their thinking for them.
This isn’t the first year educators have grappled with how and when to use the rapidly evolving technology.
While some public schools across the country may have been a step slow to confront artificial intelligence, Oregon was the first state, according to the state’s education department, to release statewide guidelines on generative AI in public K-12 schools back in 2023.
The guidelines provide information on the pros and cons of AI in education, and why this is becoming such a large conversation now. They provide resources to help craft AI policies and suggestions on details such as training opportunities for staff and students on how to use AI ethically.
Educators are growing increasingly interested in gaining a more thorough understanding of AI and using that knowledge to help students. Oregon’s largest school district, for example, just announced a partnership with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s AI company for an early literacy pilot program.
Gov. Kotek made a deal with Nvidia to get AI education in Oregon schools, as reported by the Oregon Capitol Chronicle this summer.
Initial details imply this partnership will mostly be focused in colleges and universities. Still, while details on the partnership are scarce, the deal makes Oregon one of several states working with the trillion-dollar chip maker to get artificial intelligence lessons into local classrooms.
Former NFL player and AI company founder Colin Kaepernick, right, and Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong, center, speak with a group of students at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 6, 2025.
Natalie Pate / OPB
Proponents of this technology argue that AI, overall, offers schools several benefits.
For educators, it cuts down time on administrative tasks and can help them tailor learning materials for individual students. Some teachers argue they have an obligation to teach students how to use the latest technology responsibly as they enter the “real world.”
Students use AI — like they would a scientific calculator or the internet — as a tool to enhance their learning, not replace it. They can use it to generate practice test questions or study guides, for example, or to give an initial review of an assignment to see whether their work aligns with the grading rubric.
Opponents are concerned that AI’s downsides in schools outweigh the positives.
Many worry it will harm students’ critical thinking skills, and studies have shown that relying on AI can be harmful to cognitive processing. Academics are concerned that students are using the technology to cheat.
Many are also concerned about young people developing unhealthy relationships with AI characters and therapists. Students have reported their peers using AI to bully and sexually harass them, including making deep fake nude photographs.
Some also worry AI will be used to either replace human staff when districts want to cut spending, or that the emerging technology will only be available in the most affluent districts. While some fear it will deepen digital divides between the “haves” and “have-nots,” some are working to bridge that gap.
Though Oregon offers guidance and resources to schools around artificial intelligence, there are no statewide requirements around AI — at least not yet. Policy discussions are likely to increase at the state or local level as it becomes increasingly prevalent, and more educators, parents and students take notice.
