Cell phone usage in schools is likely to face drastic changes in the 2027-28 school year, with recent legislation being advanced in Maryland to restrict access to phones and other electronics, such as smartphones, during the school day. On March 24, The Maryland House of Delegates passed, in a 135-1 vote, the Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act, which will limit “the use of a cellular phone by a student during the school day.” The bill requires the boards of education in each county to create policies that restrict electronic communication during the school day, including lunch and passing periods. The proposed law also stated that exceptions would be provided to those who have special approved requests.
The Maryland General Assembly has also passed the bill, which will soon be sent to Gov. Wes Moore to be signed into law. Maryland counties must finalize the policies by 2027 and will restrict laptops and smartwatches alongside phones.
Though the bill is the first statewide restriction of phone usage in schools, it is far from the first in Montgomery County. Attempts have already been made to lessen phone usage in MCPS, with an “All Day Away” policy established this school year, which brought rules to keep phones away during instructional times. However, the new Maryland policy amends the existing rules in favor of a “bell to bell” policy in which cell phones must be turned off from the first bell at the start of the day to the dismissal bell at the end. As a result, phones must also be kept away during lunch time and passing periods as well under the new law.
These policies to restrict phone usage have led to mixed reactions from MCPS students and local residents, with some applauding the actions and others expressing concern about the implications of such policies.
Freshman Benjamin Vacatello expressed concern, questioning the implementation of the new policies. “I think that phones being banned from being used at all, not even during lunch or between classes, would be an unfair amount of unnecessary control on the use of phones.”
Freshman Theodore Wood said that he feels like legislatures are ignoring how phone usage is a necessity today, and how legislators are out of touch with the younger generation’s reality. “[They] only recognize phones to be a disruption,” he said. “I actually need to have my phone to text people when to pick me up.”
While the policies will allow phone usage after school, being unable to use phones during passing periods or lunch has led to concern from students, staff and parents who want to be able to quickly contact people before school ends. Josephine De La Olivia, a mathematics teacher, also had mixed thoughts on the bill, explaining that even when she went to a private school with high social media usage, students were able to refrain from using these services when not permitted. “I can say that I went to a private school where everyone had an iPhone, Snapchat and Instagram, and we were still able to follow expectations of not using it during school,” she said.
Many parents, particularly following the incident at Thomas Wootton High School on Feb. 9, have also expressed concern about not being able to reach their kids. “In this day and age, with all the shootings, parents want to reach their children, right? That’s like [saying] ‘hey mom, I’m ok,’” Dr. Barabara Hirsch, a Wootton parent who feels uneasy over the recent shooting, said.
Omar Lazo, a Board of Education candidate and chair of the Montgomery County Workforce Development Board, also had mixed feelings on the new policies. “I know [that] as a parent, I want to be able to reach my kids in case of an emergency, so I think that’s something that we have to really look at,” he said.
However, there are areas of agreement – that phones are a problem to some degree in the county’s schools. “They are a distraction, they can be a distraction, it depends on the student. So I think we really do have to analyze and see what’s best for the kids’ learning,” Lazo said.
Rick F. Mui, a candidate for Montgomery County Council District 3 and a Richard Montgomery parent, agrees that phones are a distraction in schools. “I understand that students may want to be in contact with parents, but during class, they should be put away. We all agree with that,” he said. “Parents are distracted at work if they’re looking at their things. So I don’t want to add more distractions.”
While Maryland will be mandating the ban, the exact means Montgomery County will use to implement the policies are still unclear, with districts having the authority to choose where and how phones will be stored throughout the day. “You can have it in your bookbags, you can hold it, but do not use it during class,” Mui said.
