Castlemont High stabbing raises questions about OUSD cell phone ban

OAKLAND, Calif. - A student was taken to a hospital on Thursday morning following a fight that resulted in a stabbing on the campus of Castlemont High School in East Oakland.

Castlemont stabbing

What we know:

Emergency responders, including Oakland police and firefighters, arrived at the scene shortly after receiving reports of the fight just before 10:30 a.m. 

Police confirmed the student suffered a stab wound to the head.

As a result of the stabbing, the Oakland Unified School District placed Castlemont High School under a secure school protocol.

The measure kept all students locked inside their classrooms until police issued an all-clear. Authorities detained at least four people in connection with the fight, though one person was later released. It's not clear what the fight was about. 

School ban on mobile devices

What they're saying:

The stabbing sparked frustration among community members regarding a new school rule banning mobile devices on campus. 

A new state law requires districts to limit device access, and Oakland Unified enacted one of the strictest cellphone bans in the Bay Area.

Students are not allowed to use cellphones, smartwatches, or other personal electronic devices during class, between classes, or during lunch, except in limited circumstances.

Parents speak up 

Several parents chimed in on social media, questioning the complete ban on cell phones during the school day, where students must now lock up their devices in secure bags. The parents said they did not immediately receive an alert from the school about what was going on, and they had no idea if their children were safe. 

Dejuanae, a parent, voiced concerns over how the restriction limits communication during emergencies.

"Now that they took the students' phones away, me as a mother myself, it's something that shouldn't be done," Dejuanae said. "Yeah, you can limit the use of the phones. You can take the phones away in the classrooms, but I feel like physically when they leave those classrooms, they need their phones."