Pahoa High and Intermediate School on the Big Island will ban electronic devices from campus starting next year.

There have been high incidences of theft and even arrests as students swipe each other's cell phones, iPods, CD players and other electronics, Principal Dean Cevallos said.

"There's been too much theft, too much of 'You have better than me,' " Cevallos said.

The ban comes after discussions by the school community council, the school leadership team and three parent meetings. The school resource officer also urged the ban.

Hilo High School implemented a similar ban in 2006 and has succeeded in keeping kids from bringing the distracting devices to campus. There is no statewide policy governing cell phones on school campuses, but a number of schools such as Kaiser High say students must keep them turned off during school hours.

Officials say that along with the irritation of phones ringing during class, students have used electronic devices to record low-angle shots of girls in skirts walking up stairs, or fights, then posted the videos on YouTube. Students are also texting and sending inflammatory pictures to each other.

"A lot was going on that we felt was taking away from safety and security on campus," Cevallos said.

Many of the electronic-related problems could be considered "cyberbullying," a Class B infraction under new rules set to be adopted by the Board of Education at a special meeting tomorrow.

At Hilo High, sanctions for a first offense are confiscating the device for the day and giving parents a call. On the second offense, the device is confiscated and returned to the parent.

If a student breaks the rule a third time, the electronic device is kept for a year and the student is slapped with insubordination. Pahoa High will implement nearly identical sanctions.

Hilo High issued 1,240 citations for breaking the rule in the first year of the ban. That number dropped to 930 infractions in 2007-08, and there have been 530 infractions as this school year wraps up.