My kids have had cell phones since middle school, it helps to know if there are bus issues and then there's the whole threat of Uvalde happening where I'd like them to be able to get in touch with me. If we lived in a society where that kind of thing didn't happen, that would be great, but we don't
They don't need them during class though.
They don't need to use them in class, but they still need them on their person in case a gunman comes on campus.
They don't need them durning class (with rare exceptions) however, they need them outside of class & too many schools take 0 responsibility for any of a kid's items during the school day, so leave it in the locker & they get stolen & the school says it was the kid's fault for owning a phone.
Fair. That's pretty much my kid's school policy.