Getting the message?

COEUR d'ALENE - Although strict rules and policies are in place banning the use of cell phones in classrooms locally and throughout the nation, recent research shows many teens are doing it anyway.

And many times, they're getting away with it.

The developer of a free texting application, textPlus, polled 1,200 of its teen users and 43 percent admitted they text during class.

Similar research data released by the Pew Center last spring found that 58 percent of cell-owning teens at schools that ban phones have sent a text message while in class.

The Coeur d'Alene School District nixed student cell phone usage two years ago.

"Of course, there are still students who violate the rules, but I saw a marked decrease in cell phone related issues - theft, cheating, bullying, and porn," said Lake City High School Principal Deanne Clifford.

She estimates the no cell phone policy has reduced associated disciplinary action by roughly 80 percent.

When violations occur, the cell phones are confiscated and parents are called to pick them up, which usually occurs without issue, Clifford said.

Brad Murray, the assistant superintendent in the Lakeland School District, and Post Falls Superintendent Jerry Keane reported similar situations.

"There is no doubt that students are still texting even though they are not allowed," Keane said.

Most students do not violate the cell phone and texting rules, Keane said, but "students can find ways to bend or break the rules if they are motivated enough."

According to the textPlus report, 80 percent of teens surveyed have never been caught texting in class, and 73 percent believe there is nothing wrong with doing it.

Drew Olanoff, director of customer support and outreach for the California-based textPlus, told The Press in a telephone interview that the answer is to "teach etiquette, talk etiquette," not ban texting.

"It's not the technology. It's a parent's responsibility," Olanoff said.

Children should learn that it's not OK to text when something important is going on, like during class, he said.

If it's important to parents that their children not text during dinner, Olanoff said those parents need to enforce a rule that cell phones are to be turned off or put away at that time. The parents need to put their phones away as well, he said.

The textPlus survey revealed that 66 percent of teens surveyed have received text messages from their parents during school time, when the parents know their children are in class.

"It's how kids communicate, that's how they learn," Olanoff said. "Schools can't control it, so they're afraid of it."

By making texting the scapegoat, Olanoff said schools are a discounting a communication device kids know is quick and effective.

The research done by the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Internet & American Life Project found 54 percent of teens text message daily, and when they do, they text a lot. Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day.

Text messaging has surpassed face-to-face, e-mail, instant messaging and voice calls as the primary communication tool for teens, according to the Pew report.

"It's a great technology. Learn about it, educate. You can't fight it," Olanoff said.