HCPSS Phone Ban Starting Next Year!

Will this motivate students to focus more on their academics?

According to the Howard County Board of Education, students will no longer have the privilege to bring their phones to schools starting in the 2024-2025 school year. The Board of Education has decided to create this new rule because there has been a severe decline in students’ academic performance for the past few school years. Teachers and administrators are sick and tired of seeing students constantly on their devices during class.

The purpose of phones is for communication, not necessarily for entertainment, according to the Board of Education. However, students are using their phones for entertainment purposes far too often in the classroom. OM teacher Ms. Anderson-Little believes, “This is the best thing to happen to OM since the arrival of Dunkin.”

Some parents are upset about the new rule and feel like they need to have a huge meeting with the Board of Education. Some parents feel that although students definitely should not use their devices in class unless the teacher allows them to, they believe that there will be no way for them to reach out to their kids, especially in an emergency.

Many are still in shock and surprised that the Board of Education has put this rule in place and many students are really upset with it.

There is a meeting that is scheduled to take place on July 25, 2024, where all the teachers, administrators, and parents will have a meeting with the Board of Education about whether students should have permission to bring their phones with them to school. The Howard County Board of Education is set to make its final decision on August 15, 2024.