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A middle school principal is speaking out after her cell phone ban joke went viral on TikTok.
Katie Buffum, the principal of Woodland Park Middle School in Southern California, took to TikTok on July 31 to joke about one of the downfalls of students not being able to use their phones during school hours.
And it meant having to “print over 1300 class schedules” so her students know where to go each period.
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The TikTok has been viewed more than four million times and received more than 15,000 comments as parents, teachers and students shared their opinions on why cell phones should or shouldn’t be banned.
@principalbuffum This will be interesting. Different for the kids. But going back to my days as a kid. We will survive. #relatable #middleschool #teachersoftiktok #principalsoftiktok #fyp #foryoupage ♬ It's The Hard Knock Life - Annie Movie
And most of the comments blamed the school for bringing this problem upon themselves.
On Aug. 3, Buffum returned to TikTok to defend her school’s cell phone policy and clarify that her viral TikTok was nothing more than a joke about the irony behind a cell phone ban in schools.
She also clarified that her school prints out schedules for the students anyway — with or without a ban.
@principalbuffum Understanding my last TikTok. #relatable #middleschool #principalsoftiktok #teachers #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound - principalbuffum
“People don’t always have printers at home, but it’s also not a parent’s responsibility to print out anything for their child,” she said of the schedules. “We are a public school and we will do that.”
“We will also make sure they have all their materials,” she added.
While Buffum encourages the use of a printed schedule, she says her students are also directed to check their chromebooks and cell phones (when allowed) in case changes are made to the schedule.
Buffum says the cell phone ban was implemented last year
In her TikTok, Buffum clarified that this is her school’s first full year of implementing a cell phone ban.
The policy was implemented at the start of the second semester in 2024 and was only approved after the school talked to stakeholders (including parents and teachers) about what the expectation should be.
The rule is simple: cell phone use isn’t allowed during school hours — from the first bell to the last bell.
But, unlike some schools across the country, Buffum’s students are allowed to have their phone on them in case of an emergency.
@principalbuffum Back at it. Cell phone ban #middleschool #moddleschoolprincipal #cellphoneban #fyp ♬ original sound - principalbuffum
Some schools require students to keep their cell phones in “Yondr” pouches, which are lockable pouches that block the signals coming to and from the phone, according to Fox 9.
As for Buffum’s students, they can keep their phone in their backpack during school hours.
“In class, if you take it out, first you get a warning. If they do it again, they get another warning, but they have to put (it) in the parking lot,” she said in an interview with People.
Buffum further explained that the “parking lot” is a charging station that sits outside of each classroom.
@principalbuffum Students really well without their phones. We survived the first day. #relatable #middleschool #fyp #foryoupage ♬ I Forgot That You Existed - Taylor Swift
“If there's a third warning, for them to realize this is serious and something we can't have, we call parents to come pick up the phone," she told People.
Buffum said that her school recognizes that some students, especially those with anxiety or other special needs, aren’t able to go without their cell phone during the day.
Those students are given a sticker to put on the back of their phone so teachers know they’re allowed to have it out.
“We always want to get our kids future ready,” she said in her TikTok. “Their world is really revolved around technology.”
Buffum’s cell phone policy was met with positive reviews from parents and teachers
Despite the backlash she received online, Buffum said students responded well to the cell phone policy.
“Many students said that they felt less stressed, they love that they didn’t have to worry about getting text messages from friends or any drama,” she said in her Aug. 3 TikTok video.
“At lunchtime, they were playing basketball, they were running around, just talking to each other, having really good social interactions, which we know at the middle school level is needed,” she added.
@principalbuffum Students are really great with not having their phones out. So if there is a slip up there is no need to be dramatic. #middleschool #principal #relatable #cellphone #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Muted by me
She told People that she hasn’t received a single complaint from a parent about her cell phone policies in school.
But even Buffum — who has two kids in public school — admitted that it took some getting used to.
"I texted him because I had forgotten that I wanted him to know he was being picked up by somebody. And I'm like, 'Why isn't he responding?'” she told People of her son.
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“As a parent, I had to remember, 'Oh, my gosh, he's supposed to be in class. He shouldn't be looking at his phone,’” she added. “All of us parents had to adjust, and it was a difficult one to swallow.”
