Montgomery County Public Schools will update its regulation on the use of personal mobile devices (including cell phones) by the end of the school year, according to an update to the Board of Education on Feb. 20. 

At the same time, multiple bills introduced by lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly seek to ban cell phone usage outright in schools statewide. The effects of both anti-phone crusades will soon ripple into the halls of WJ, where this issue has been observed and debated by students, teachers and administrators. 

According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center,  72% of high school teachers nationwide state that cell phone distraction is a major problem in their classrooms, but 60% stated that it is somewhat or very difficult to actually enforce cell phone policies. Additionally, while 68% of Americans support cell phone policies, only 36% support an all-day ban. 

This data comes during a nationwide trend of cracking down on cell phones. According to data from KFF, a non-profit public health policy institution, as of Dec. 2024, eight states have passed state-wide policies to ban or restrict school cell phone usage. Another 16 states, including Maryland, have introduced legislation or have issued recommendations and started pilot programs to address the issue. This data also does not include the myriad of individual counties and school districts making similar moves. 

For MCPS and the state of Maryland, the tide appears to be turning in a meaningful way toward harsher restrictions on cell phones in school in the near future.

MCPS has regulated personal mobile devices (PMDs) — personal devices including cell phones, laptops, tablets and smart watches — since 1992, under the regulation COG-RA. The regulation has remained mostly the same since 2017, when MCPS expanded the regulation to allow high school students to use PMDs at lunch. However, MCPS says, following further stakeholder engagement, it will update the policy by May with new guidelines, resources and best practices for implementation. 

At WJ, cell phones are allowed at lunch and during transitions but not during instructional class time. In theory, WJ also has a progressive disciplinary system that includes confiscation and contacting parents about repeat offenses; however, in practice, phones are rarely confiscated. 

While MCPS’ COG-RA regulation does not allow for cell phone use in the classroom, in reality, many students continue to use them anyway. Acknowledging this reality, MCPS’ regulation revision aims to be what it calls “More than Mandates; Greater than Guidelines,” focusing on better implementation rather than more conservative language or harsher punishments.

“We have seen all over the country, various different mandates of banning cell phones, and what we have learned is that, to actually do this well, it has to be more than a mandate,”  MCPS Chief of Strategic Initiatives Stephanie Sharon said to the Board.

According to an update to the Board, the pilot program the system introduced this year of “Away All Day” has already produced positive results. Pyle Middle School Principal Christopher Nardi and Rockville High School Principal Rhoshandra Pyles spoke to the Board about methods that worked for their schools, ranging from phone caddies and a progressive disciplinary system for repeat offenders at Pyle to purchasing magnetic phone pouches at Rockville as a disciplinary tool.

While Board members generally commented positively on the update and the work of the OSA on the program, Board member Grace Rivera-Oven expressed concern about immigrant students, noting that “ right now, [there is] so much fear that the phone is like a lifeline.” 

Board member Laura Zimmerman also noted the potential for loneliness and other social impacts in a more widespread phone crackdown. 

“I’m imagining that child that might usually sit alone but have their phone, and that seems socially acceptable, but now they’re just alone,” Zimmerman said.

As the Board is investigating new phone policies, students and teachers have mixed feelings regarding new cell phone policies, stating that the current PMD systems at WJ, which vary based on teacher preference, work well.

“[Current PMD systems] like putting your phone in a caddy and teachers just collecting phones [are] way better than locking it in the phone cases,” junior Laioni McFadden said. 

Many students take issue with creating widespread cell phone policies when a minority of students may disrespect the policy. Many think that students need some sort of autonomy to make their own decisions regarding their education and dedication. 

“The dismissive tone taken to student concerns about loneliness and security is heartbreaking to hear from a school district that claims to value student input,” Montgomery Blair High School senior Sam Ross said. “It is also upsetting to see the high school student population be treated and joked about like we are babies who cannot be trusted to build our own habits, use our own discipline and use a dial pad phone.” 

Increased phone usage has been a huge issue for teachers, particularly regarding cheating and distractions, as many students ignore PMD policies. 

“I think the uniformity of policy has to be there and I think it has to be enforceable,” English teacher Alexia Remy said. “I think the only way it will work is if you have a consistent and regular system that everyone knows and expects … and everyone does it and teachers are held accountable for implementing it. We all need to be held accountable.”

In addition to being a distraction, consistent use of phones by students during instruction time often creates a lack of mutual respect between teachers and students. 

“I think [cell phones] put such a strain on [student-teacher relationships],” health teacher Gabrielle Cohen said. “I feel like a nagging mom instead of a teacher and I just hate that. I don’t want to have that relationship between myself and my students.”