A new cell phone policy in schools takes affect this year.

Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti in a recent letter sent to parents this week announced cell phone use is not allowed from the entry bell to the dismissal bell. Individual schools will communicate their policy for phones, whether it is to collect and return devices daily or instruct students to turn them off and put them away. The letter says parents who want to reach out to their children during the day should call the school directly.  

Governor Gretchen Whitmer earlier this year signed a law banning the use of cell phones during instructional time. The law addresses research that shows phones are the biggest sources of distraction in classrooms and when student put their phones down, their grades improve. 

There are also concerns about the effects of constant phone use on students’ attention spans, mental health, and social relationships. 

Additional headlines for Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026

Survey finds kids eat unhealthy breakfasts 

A survey by the University of Michigan’s C.S Mott Children’s Hospital finds most kids eat breakfast before school. But as it may not be a nutritious meal. The hospital says a healthy breakfast consists of a lean protein, high fiber content and a healthy source of fat.  

Mott’s Poll Co-Director and pediatrician Susan Woolford says parents report three top barriers to healthy eating they face daily.  

“First of all, 44% said that their child is a picky eater, and then just over a third mentioned that their child is a little bit grumpy or slow in the morning, and then about a third said that time was a barrier.” 

Woolford suggests preparing breakfast ahead of time to ensure the meal is nutritious and there is time to eat it.  

She also suggests parents with picky eaters let the children help choose healthy options for their meal.  

Mayor Sheffield announces plan to bring rentable housing into compliance

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield wants to bring thousands more rental units up to code. The goal is to increase the compliance rate for single- and double-family units from 14% to 25% within a year.

Most of Detroit’s rental properties are 1 or 2 family units. Sheffield says the city will help small-scale landlords get their compliance certificates.

Six months ago, the mayor launched an effort to bring 65 senior apartment buildings up to code by now. The city has surpassed that goal, issuing 88 compliance certificates.

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Amy Shah is a double board-certified MD and nutrition expert. She recently wrote the book “Hormone Havoc” about how to eat, sleep, and think better for perimenopause and menopause.

She says perimenopause can be a confusing time for people and doctors, who aren’t trained to treat it. 

“Most doctors don’t even know perimenopause exists. So I felt like there was a need to clarify what is happening during that time, and the simple things that are science-backed that we could be doing during that time,” she says.

Shah says prior to the 1990s, women were largely left out of medical studies.

She says more conversations are happening about the topics due to increased awareness through social media.

“The social circle conversations were all done in silos, but now the social conversation happens in these formats, where you can see, oh my god, everyone around the world, women are all experiencing this, and I think that’s really kind of driven more requests for content, requests for medical advice, requests for research on this topic,” she says.

Some common symptoms include feeling tired, and things like itchy skin, carpal tunnel syndrome or frozen shoulder. 

“Estrogen receptors are present in our body, and so when there’s shifts in the estrogen, there’s going to be symptoms that sound like they have completely nothing to do with menopause, but they are related,” she explains.

30-30-3

To help women during perimenopause and menopause, Shah developed the 30-30-3 framework. 

“I thought, let me take all the research that we have in nutrition and for women in perimenopause and try to dilute it down to the very simple basics, and what I realized that is that there’s a three step protocol,” she expresses. “It’s 30 grams of protein in your first meal, 30 grams of fiber throughout the day, and three servings of probiotic foods every single day.”

She says incorporating these changes can help with the gut-hormone-brain-immune connection, which connects the digestive system and central nervous system and impacts one’s health.

Another big indicator of health during perimenopause is sleep.

“We’re finding out more and more that women may be even more susceptible to circadian rhythm disruptions… 70% of people in that perimenopause, menopause transition have disturbances in sleep,” she shares.

Breaking barriers and stigma on perimenopause

Shah, who is Indian American, says South Asians are more susceptible to insulin resistance than the general population. But talking about perimenopause, menopause, and symptoms is often a taboo subject, preventing women from getting adequate care.

“I think that there’s like real barriers there from in that culture about talking about it with your doctor, about actually getting help for it, and even, you know, speaking about it in the community, because there’s just so much kind of taboo around it,” she explains.

But Shah says it’s important to speak up about women’s health.

“Pregnancy is celebrated. There’s lots of conversation about that, but puberty and menopause, there’s like almost no conversation, because it’s very taboo in those cultures. And so I keep a very open dialogue with both my kids, my daughter and my son,” she says.

Shah says people have more control than they think they do.

“A lot of people treat this time of life as downhill or something that they should be worried about or stressed about, that now everything is going to be worse in their life… I tell everyone that you know your 40s, 50s, and beyond can be the best years, and it can be the years that you can actually find your gifts,” she says.

Shah is also the author of the books, “I’m So Effing Hungry” and “I’m So Effing Tired.” You can find her on Instagram here.