Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – While the District 186 school board this month passed up a chance to spend more than $200,000 on cell phone pouches, a unanimous vote Monday set policies which are consistent across all high schools, all middle schools, and all grade schools.

In short, if you have a cell phone at school, put it away.

“This is a conversation that is sweeping the nation,” said board president Micah Miller. “Almost every school district is dealing with this eight now. There is a variety of tools the districts are using to curb cell phone use in the classroom.”

One of those tools is the pouch manufactured by Yondr, which Miller favored.

Another board member, Buffy Lael-Wolf, said the new policy will be a rude awakening.

“We had an electronic device policy. We weren’t following it,” Lael-Wolf said, addressing one wrinkle the new policy smooths out. “I’ll just say it bluntly. We weren’t following it. Because we didn’t follow our own policy, and because we weren’t consistent (in enforcing it), we are going o have upset kids, right?”

District 186 regular-calendar schools began class Monday.