Novato schools to step up cellphone restrictions

Parents of elementary and middle school students in the Novato Unified School District will be asked this fall to pledge they will not give their children cellphones until they reach high school.

The district, which had several major instances of bullying and violent assaults in the past school year, is planning to join a movement called “Wait Until 8th” in which parents promise to withhold smartphones from students until the end of eighth grade.

“Over the summer, districtwide cellphone...