The policing of phones by Elkhorn Public Schools has been a hot topic recently, especially with news of a new school phone policy coming for the 2024-2025 year. A related question that has long probed students is if Elkhorn Public Schools is blocking signals inside the school in order to prevent phone usage. This would be achieved through the use of cell phone jammers to create a purposeful school “dead-zone”, which is illegal. So, the answer is no. Elkhorn is not messing with your cell signal. But here’s a few things that might be: the type of insulation that the school uses; metal construction found in many LEED-certified school buildings, or even energy efficient windows. According to CBS, schools are actually just more susceptible to bad cell service due to many issues like these, not because of the purposeful creation of dead-zones. Some schools have even had legal action taken against them for attempting to create these dead-zones, like in 2015, when a school teacher in Pasco County, Florida, was found to be in violation of federal law from blocking his students’ cell service. Considering all these factors, there’s no need to worry about dead-zones at Elkhorn High anytime soon.