NYSSA, Ore. — Hallways at Nyssa High School buzz with conversation this year as students navigate a school day without their phones, part of a stricter policy implemented ahead of Oregon's upcoming statewide ban on student phones.

"I've never had so many conversations in the hallway as I have this year," senior Amity Hartley said. "It's nice, getting to see people's faces and having a real-life conversation with them."

The Nyssa School District now prohibits phone use throughout the entire school day — not just during class time — following Gov. Tina Kotek's July executive order, which requires statewide bell-to-bell phone bans in public schools by 2026.

"Yeah, it's weird at the beginning, but we got used to it pretty quick," junior Joaquin Cuevas said. "Everybody has to have a conversa

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