A new way of keeping Middletown students from using their cellphones in school is getting mixed reaction from the community  

Middletown High School students must now put their phones in a locked pouch at the start of the school, as of last week. 

Students can keep the phones in their bookbags or lockers, but the pouches are locked shut with a magnet that’s released at the end of the day. 

The district enacted a cellphone ban this year and says it helps students positively interact with each other and keeps them off social media in class. 

They say students have been seen playing cards together at lunch instead of being on their phones, adding that many parents have reached out in support of the new policies.

Some parents though say they don’t agree with the pouches or no cellphones in school for safety reasons, adding that the new security screening for phones has caused long delays for students getting into school.