This year’s cell phone policy hit students hard and fast. This new policy has different expectations for different grades. Elementary and middle school students are grouped into one policy and high school students into another. Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) are prohibited in elementary and middle schools, including during passing periods, lunch, and instructional time.
High schools, on the other hand, must uphold a cell phone ban at certain times. During instructional time, all students are prohibited from using their cell phones. Staff at all levels can use their phones for emergency purposes at their discretion. The difference when looking at High School and Middle School policies, is non-instructional time. During non-instructional time, high school students can use their Personal Electronic Devices.
Previously, cell phones could be used with teacher permission during instructional time. This was possible because individual policies were left up to each school to decide. Erika Peterman is a parent in Missoula and thought that this was a bad policy. Peterman was one of the main advocates for changing the cell phone policy.
Peterman said that she would like for this policy to change for a couple reasons. She says her breaking point was when she read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, a book about mental health with teens and phones. Another reason, she says, was when her 16-year-old son came home from school one day complaining about phones at his school, and the cell phone policy being unevenly enforced.
MCPS’s new cell phone policy affects many students as well. One junior (who preferred to remain anonymous) at Sentinel High School stated that they now “feel unsafe” and that the policy is “too restrictive for students”. He expressed that during an emergency, he would not be able to contact anyone. He has been through many lockdowns during his time in school, every time he fears for his safety and uses his phone to contact loved ones.
Many studies have shown that during an emergency situation, such as a lockdown or fire, it is safer for students to be fully present and not have their devices. Allowing students to have their devices allows rumors to be started on social media platforms, such as Snapchat or Instagram . This is proven over and over again during emergency situations, even at Sentinel. During Sentinel’s lockdown last year, many students were posting on social media because teachers allowed students to grab their phones.
There are exceptions to the PED device policy, including when using a device is required for medical reasons or when it is included in an IEP or 504.
One senior Sentinel student (who preferred to remain anonymous) has a medical exemption required for seizures. At the beginning of the year, she talked to all of her teachers and let them know that she will need to have her phone on her. Even after doing this, she is worried that hall monitors and substitutes will not let her keep using her device.
MCPS’s policy is new this year, but MCPS is not the only district that has implemented new policies. Montana has not enacted a statewide school cell phone policy like Texas and other states, but the governor of Montana has executed numerous actions in the past, placing his support against cell phones in schools. Last year, he sent a letter to Montana school superintendents and school boards to suggest policies that would “limit learning distractions”.
Some schools in Montana have adopted more relaxed cell phone policies. Frenchtown adopted a new policy this year that requires students to have their phones out of sight but not put into school provided storage such as phone caddies. A couple of school districts haven’t even created cell phone policies and put the creation of the policy for any given classroom on the head instructor of that classroom.
Compared to other states and districts, MCPS’s policy is not intense for students. On June 26th, 2025, Texas signed into law the Texas House Bill 1481 – Student Use of Personal Communication Devices on School Property. This bill outlines how devices could be used on school property at every public school in Texas. Schools must not allow students to use Personal Electronic Devices; this is enforced in one of two ways. The first method is schools banning phones on campus, which is what most schools are doing.
The second method is for districts to have a storage system for devices throughout the school day. Yondr pouches are the most popular option for this. These pouches are for locking phones while still letting students have their phones on them. These pouches are becoming more popular every year, and many parents are pushing for students to be required to use them.
These pouches are used to control phone usage in all 50 states and have been implemented in more than 4,000 schools worldwide. Yondr pouches are a unique and patented solution for schools that allow students to still have their phones on them and just not use them. Students are said to spend more than 1/4th of their day on their cell phones, and this creates issues with students not being able to do their schoolwork during lunch or breaks because they are distracted by their phones.
Cell phones are linked to an increase and are found to contribute to the teen mental health epidemic. Recent research has found that the extended use of cell phones can lead to thoughts of self-harm, suicidal thoughts or actions, and severe depression.
In the United States, almost every school has created a cell phone policy of some sort that students and teachers must enforce and follow. Some policies are more intense than others, and a good majority of students have issues with their school’s specific policy. Compliance so far in the school year across the nation has been high, but policies will likely continue to be implemented as more schools catch on to the trend.
