Baltimore County middle, high schools can restrict cell phone use during class in pilot program

Baltimore County middle and high schools will have the option to join a pilot program next school year to restrict cell phone use during class time, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said Tuesday.

Every classroom would receive cell phone pouches for students to lock their phones in during class. Gboyinde Onijala, a Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson, said nine schools have signed up so far. She could not immediately provide the cost of the program.

The district would then review the pilot and discuss next steps for the spring semester.

Policies limiting phone use in schools have become popular across the country in recent months, including the use of pouches to lock up phones until the end of the day or the end of class. In Carroll County, school board members are considering revising the the district’s phone policies to create more stringent rules.

“The research is clear on cell phone use for students in schools having a profound impact on their mental health and well-being,” Rogers said at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

A 2023 study from Common Sense Media found that 97% of kids use their phones during school hours, but policies about phone use in school vary, sometimes even between classrooms, and aren’t always enforced.

Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murth called for warning labels on social media platforms stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. A 2022 survey showed that teenagers spend an average of three-and-a-half hours per day on social media, according to Murth, while a 2019 study found children and adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems, including symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Some county schools began using cell phone pouches last academic year, Onijala said. The pilot is expected to increase the number of participating schools. The Baltimore City Public School System has tried locking phones in pouches until the end of the day in at least one school.

In Virginia, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order Tuesday directing the state education department to create policies for “phone-free” educational environments. The order, citing concerns over social media’s impact on youth mental health, stopped short of banning cell phones from school.

Nearly 6,000 parents, students and community members responded to a district survey on cell phone use. The majority of respondents agreed phones distract from learning, but there was “very strong opposition” about a school-wide phone ban, Rogers said.

“One response that came through loud and clear was that they do not support the ban of cell phones for students,” Rogers said at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Those who opposed confiscating phones for the school day cited safety concerns and property rights.

A separate survey sent to teachers received 5,000 responses with varied answers about how to address phone distractions. Many teachers and school staff favored some limits on phone use during the school day, Rogers said, but there wasn’t a consensus on who would enforce a ban: teachers or administrators.

A lack of support from parents and inconsistent enforcement from school staff makes it difficult to limit students’ phone use, teachers wrote in the survey. There was more support for a “multi-step infraction matrix” for phone use in class or launching an educational campaign for students and families about the negative impacts of phones in school, Rogers added.