I thought the following was rather silly at first, but it made the national news and I thought I'd share it.
A Pottstown, PA (suburban Philadelphia) school district has banned a very popular style of fashion booth ("Uggs") from school because they believe kids are smuggling cell phones in the boot. Cell phones are forbidden in the school classrooms. The story made the Los Angeles Times: (includes a link to the local paper).
The issue of cell phones and kids is tougher. As discussed, there are problems in getting adults to turn off their cellphones during concerts, religious services, funerals, etc. If adults are unable to "break their connection" for an hour or two, how can we expect kids to do it in class?
(I was recently at a business meeting. During the breaks, the participants immediately whipped out their phones to check for emails and send out texts. These days plenty of adults are as focused on their cell phones as much as kids are.)
But cell phones are a distraction in class and should not be permitted to be used. Further, they can be used for inproper purposes, such as taking embarassing photos of fellow students, or passing test questions to other students.