A Houston high school was placed on lockdown Friday after students stormed out of their classrooms in protest of a new cell phone ban.
James Madison High School staff ordered the shelter-in-place as a precaution after physical altercations broke out on campus the day before news of the new policy was shared.
“The school is currently on lockdown due to concern over recent fights that have occurred on campus,” Principal Edgar Contreras told parents in a message obtained by Houston Chronicle.
“As you know, we communicated yesterday that, beginning on Monday, students will not be allowed to use their cell phones – at any time – while they are inside the school building. Cell phones have been at the center of fights that have broken out at our school,” he continued.
The high school students had been in an uproar since the school announced the new rules, which would require them to turn off their devices and leave them at the front desk at the start of the school day.
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