Like many other school districts in the country, District 202 is considering lifting its ban on cell phones after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks highlighted the use of cell phones in emergencies.

Superintendent Allan Alson told the school board at a recent meeting that he will present a proposal to allow students to carry cell phones and pagers to Evanston Township High School, but not use them during school hours unless there is an emergency.

Kathy Miehls, director of public/alumni relations for ETHS, said Alson’s proposal would ask the board to make an exception to state law, which bans students from bringing cell phones and pagers to school, but lets districts allow limited use.

Since Sept. 11, when many people in the World Trade Center towers used cell phones to contact family members, the devices have come to be seen as essential in emergency situations. School districts across the country have reconsidered their cell phone policies in response to concerns from parents.

While the terrorist attacks may have prompted students and parents to suggest a policy change, Alson is really responding to the improvements in technology in the last few years, Miehls said.

“It has more to do with dipping into reality,” Miehls said. “Cell phones weren’t as prevalent as they are now. Phone packages weren’t as available. Now everyone has one.”

Cheerie Hansen, president of the Parents Teachers Students Association, said she agreed that the state cell phone ban is outdated. She said PTSA members discussed the issue immediately after Sept. 11.

“That’s how the kids got in touch with their parents (on Sept. 11),” Hansen said. “Everyone gets sick of them, but they’re necessary and useful – as we’ve seen with Sept. 11.”

Miehls said the state law originally was passed to help curb drug dealing, which was once associated with cell phones and pagers when fewer students had them.

ETHS senior Jeremy Linsenmeier said prohibiting cell phones in schools does not prevent students from using them to break the law.

“Kids who use cell phones (to deal drugs) are going to do it anyway,” he said. “The only kids (the bans) would affect are the kids who use them for good reasons.”

Linsenmeier, who is also a student member of the school board, said cell phones make it easier for parents to pick up students from extracurricular activities that do not always end on time.

Prospect High School, located in Prospect, Ill., revised its cell phone policy earlier this month. School board district 214 voted to let students have cell phones in school as long as they were not visible during school hours. Phones can still be confiscated if students are caught talking on them. Both parents and administrators supported the switch as a “response to societal changes” in technology, said Pat Tedaldi-Monti, the dean of students.

The D202 board of education has not discussed the issue yet, but board President Willie J. Miller Jr. said Sept. 11 shed light on the importance of communication between students and parents.

“That’s how it initially came to our attention,” Miller said. “It’s a nationwide issue. It’s heightened our need to get in touch with people.”