As Ohio has now entered 2026, so has a new bill directed towards all schools in the state. The Ohio Senate Bill 158 which was passed in 2025 has gone into full effect throught the state. The bill went into effect on January 5th at Olentangy High School, and completely bans the use of two way communication devices in the school day. A popular issue that is caused by this bill is the use of Apple Pay. Olentangy High School contains vending machines as well as the school store called the Wigwam, in which a majority of students buy drinks, snacks, and school merchandise from. A significant amount of students at school use Apple Pay to buy these items, and the loss of it may cause major inconvenience to the student body.
“Removing Apple Pay is definitely going to take a hit on how well our products sell just because most kids don’t bring their wallets with them to school,” Sabah Ahmed ‘26 said.
Apply Pay is more convenient to students because it is easier to keep handy rather than cash or a card which can be lost easily. Furthermore, the apple pay ban can also affect how fast merchandise sells in the Wigwam.
“We are for sure losing profit over it and it’s not just us, it’s every school based store in Olentangy; but what can we do about it besides try to adjust,” Ahmed said.
There are future hopes for students to get used to the ban and begin to bring cash or cards more often. However, students do not seem thrilled with the new changes.
“ I think it’s a little frustrating that pulling out your phone for five seconds to pay for candy is so detrimental…,” Ahmed said.
A majority of students feel that certain aspects of the phone policy are unnecessary such as this, and teachers often agree. Not only does this ban affect the Wigwam, and vending machines, but it also affects the schools journalism department. Every month, a new Beacon magazine is released, and the class has made sufficient sales through Apple Pay.
“ I am worried about that because a lot of students either don’t have their card on them or they say they forgot it so I’m assuming it won’t help us,” Jessica Roads said.
