Students in Montgomery County, Maryland, will be welcomed back to school in August with a new cellphone policy.
During the new school year, students’ cellphones will have to be put away all day from the start bell to the dismissal bell. They will not be permitted to use them between classes or during lunch periods.
Peter Moran, chief of schools for Montgomery County Public Schools, told members of the county council’s Education and Culture Committee on Monday that the policy would be included in the upcoming Student Code of Conduct rule book for the 2026-27 school year.
Moran said the decision to implement the policy this year, ahead of when the state law takes effect next year, was so that students and school officials could “go through the learning process as a community.”
He also cited the feedback shared by principals and teachers that noted since middle schools introduced bell-to-bell phone restrictions, student performance improved.
“You could draw correlation from just the conversations with principals and with teachers that we’ve seen academic achievement in some key areas go up. And when asked what the lever was that was utilized to do that, many people said not allowing cellphones in math classes, not allowing cellphones in English classes,” Moran said.
The chief emphasized that the consequences for violating the policy aren’t being designed to be punitive.
“The philosophy that we’re taking is really that this is a learning opportunity for students. A lot of this is going to be conference-based with students and with parents so that they understand the rationale for the decision, how it’s impacting their learning, why we’re asking them to do this; as opposed to moving to a punitive measure for a student that’s having a difficult time separating from their technology,” he said.
Removing distractions
The school system has also decided to move ahead with the policy because many students have noted how distracting cellphones and tablets can be.
Moran noted, however, that there is some anxiety linked to keeping phones out of the hands of students all day.
“One student said to me, ‘When I have my cellphone in my pocket, I have my mom in my pocket. I have my brothers in my pocket. I have my friends in my pocket. And if I take it out of my pocket, I don’t have access to them,'” Moran said.
Moran said the school system would work with students and parents on the issues surrounding safety and security, and was honest about the potentially “challenging” rollout ahead of the school district.
“It’s going to be more about learning and talking with students and talking with families as we go through this transitional year,” he added.
Looking ahead to the new school year, Moran said feedback from other school systems included the advice that teachers and staff may find themselves having to get used to more noise at lunch, for example.
“Because students are actually talking to one another, as opposed to their faces down in classrooms, you’re going to have more spirited debates, spirited discourse because students actually have their heads up,” Moran said.
Implementing the policy
How and where students would be expected to store their phones is still an open question. In some schools, students place their phones in cubbies in the classroom. Moran said that the reports are it has worked out well.
In other schools, pouches are used. Sometimes, the students keep the locked pouches with them and, in other cases, phones are placed in the secured pouches when entering the building, then retrieved by students at the end of the day.
While the school system works to implement the new policy ahead of the state’s launch starting in the 2027-28 school year, it is also addressing the tech-related issue of screen time by conducting an audit.
Kimberly Fields, chief technology officer for MCPS, explained at the education committee meeting Monday that the school system would be conducting an audit of screentime for grades K-8.
“We are going to be performing a comprehensive review of it. We’re also going to be taking a look at our content internet filtering,” Fields said.
Council member Kristin Mink asked about content made available for classroom use that purports to be educational, but in reality, seems to “mostly be about providing kids with a game.”
Mink said she was concerned that there are times when teachers are trying to provide individual attention to small groups and allow other students to use some of those apps to work on their own.
In those cases, Moran said, “It’s being used as a management tool” rather than an educational program.
“And if it’s being used as a management tool,” Moran said, “then it shouldn’t be utilized at all.”
Fields said the audit would also include an examination of the filters on Chromebooks and other equipment provided to students.
“We know that we do have students that (say) ‘we’re going to challenge this and circumvent the system and find a different way to get through it,'” she said.
Fields said there would also be a review of the suitability and relevance of some of those programs.
In asking about tech security, Council member Shebra Evans said, “Let me ask a question; we haven’t had a cybersecurity attack,” then stopped herself and rapped on the council dias, and said, “Knock on wood!”
That prompted laughter and Evans then continued her question, “Is there a plan that you have in place that, in the event that something happens, you already have something kind of laid out to put into motion?”
Fields answered, “Now that is what keeps you up at night.”
“We do have internal emergency-preparedness plans in the event of something happening,” Fields said, adding that there are periodic checks and tabletop exercises. “This isn’t something where you just say, ‘Hey, we’re done with it and then put it away.'”
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