Cell phones have revolutionized the way life is today. They have become more versatile in the ways they can be used, like personal computers or cameras. Parents give them to their children so they can contact them after school, weekends, or on vacation. It gives parents peace of mind. Yet, there is one place that children are forbidden to bring their cell phones -- school.

Many schools across the United States ban cell phones from school campus. Other schools compromise, such as Richfield High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which allows students to have cell phones at school as long as they are turned off during class. Then students are allowed to have them during lunch and breaks during the day.

There are different views on the subject of cell phones in schools. Many think that students use them to cheat or take inappropriate pictures. The end result is that cell phones become banned, yet most students bring them to school against policy.

It seems to be a growing issue that not all schools seem to be able to put an easy stop to. According to Post-Gazette.com, over half the nation’s children over the age of 12 own a cell phone. This leads to the problem that children have grown dependant on their phones. Some even refuse to leave the house without them.

During an informal survey of 128 students at McNairy Central, 92.2 percent have their phones with them on a regular basis, while only 7.8 percent said that they did not bring them.

Of the students who bring their phones, 13.6 percent leave them in their cars. It is better than the 10 percent of students who leave their banned cell phones in their backpacks or other places and much better than the small 1.7 percent of students who leave them in their lockers.

Out of the 92.2 percent of students who bring their phones to school, 47 percent leave them in their purses and 28 percent leave them in their pockets.

"The only time we basically deal with them is when they’re seen or heard," says Scott Powers, assistant principal at McNairy Central. He also mentioned that if they are off and out of sight there is really nothing the teachers can do about them.

The official school policy is: first offense-ISS or corporal punishment; second offense-5 days ISS, or ten days after school suspension; third offense-alternative school or disciplinary hearing.