Carroll County Schools Implementing Cell Phone Policy

This policy will be for middle and high school students

Carroll County Middle and High Schools have implemented a new cellphone policy for the 2023-2024 school year. The goal of the new policy is to improve academic success and increase student engagement in the classroom, both of which have suffered because of cellphone distractions.

Students will no longer be allowed to use their cellphones during class periods. They will place their phone in a clear package provided by the teacher and will receive it back at the end of the class period when exit slips are completed, usually within the last three minutes of class. They will be allowed to use their phones between classes and during lunch.

This policy is consistent with the district’s overall policy on telecommunication devices, which states, “devices shall be turned on and operated only before and after the regular school day and during the student’s lunch break.”

The first three days of school will be practice for the new policy and teachers will be reasonable if someone forgets to turn in their phone, CCHS Principal Amy Sutter said.

“In order for our teachers to provide engaging, effective instruction, they need the support of our administration teams in providing a distraction free environment. We encourage our parents to be partners with us in this new policy,” Carroll County Schools Superintendent Casey Jaynes added. 

The high school developed its policy after extensive research and review by a committee of teachers and parents, including the School-Based Decision Making Council.

This is the link to the CCHS policy CCHS Cell Phone Policy. This is the link to the CCMS policy Cellphone Guidance 2023-2024

Sutter noted three reasons for the new policy - safety, academic success and social and emotional wellbeing. She added that the National School Safety and Security Services has researched use of cell phones in schools and determined it is a safety issue in a crisis, rather than an aid as many believe.

“If we’re in lockdown and you pull out a cell phone, you’ve created light and sound in a room that should be dark,” she said, giving a shooter a location of students and teachers who could be harmed.

In addition, if an emergency occurs at school and students have their phones, it’s likely parents and other community members will come to the site and impede emergency responders. The influx of cell phone calls can also shut down the system and make it difficult for emergency personnel to communicate.

School exists for the purpose of educating children and cell phones have been shown to negatively affect a teacher’s ability to engage with their students. CCMS Principal Dr. Robin Stephenson said, “It’s very much of a distraction for our teachers. We know that, in order to attain top 10 status, we’ve got to look directly at the distractions that are preventing instruction from occurring in the classroom.”

A 2016 study on standardized test scores showed a 6% average increase when cellphones were banned from classrooms and a 14% increase for low-achieving students. (This is the link to the article https://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/cell-phones-and-text-messaging-in-schools/). Jaynes said those are critical figures and likely represent the most accurate measurable testing data because COVID prevented testing from occurring for at least two years.

Lastly, the increase in cyberbullying is a problem due to cell phones. The middle school had 561 cell phone violations last year, which is equivalent to one for every child in the building or three per school day. Approximately 30% of the high school’s disciplinary referrals involved cellphones.

“If I had to guess, cellphone use accounts for over 80% of our issues with bullying, harassment and substance abuse issues. If our students' academic achievement does not increase, we will not be able to provide the type of workforce that our community requires, which impacts attracting high-level businesses to our community and other areas such as housing, recreation and overall living experience,” according to Jaynes.

 “I’m proud our principals are taking a stand for their teachers and making their building focus on education,” Jaynes said.

Anyone with questions about the policy or its enforcement, can contact the high school at 502-732-7075 or the middle school at 502-732-7080.