MCPS cell phone restriction program shows promising changes, staff say

[Anonymous]

SOURCE: https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/13/mcps-cell-phone-restriction-program-promising-changes/

For Silver Creek Middle School Principal Tiffany Awkard, managing student cellphone use during the prior school year was a “nightmare.” From cyberbullying to online conflicts turning into physical fights, the Kensington school’s policy of allowing cell phone use during lunch resulted in students creating conflict or being distracted.

“It was a battle,” Awkard said Monday. “We’re competing against social media … they’re winning the game here.”

But Awkard has noticed a change this school year as Silver Creek banned cell phone use for the entire school day, joining eight other Montgomery County public schools as participants in an “Away All Day” pilot program, which prohibits cell phone use during instructional time. According to some students and staff at Silver Creek and Rockville High School (another participating school), the program has been a success.

Bethesda Today joined county school board President Julie Yang as she visited Silver Creek and Rockville High this week to observe the pilot program in action and to hear feedback from students, teachers and administrators.

Yang’s big takeaway?

“It’s more complex than I thought it would be,” Yang told Bethesda Today after talking with students and staff. “The message is clear: Students and teachers said it made a difference in behavior, instruction.”

Yang’s visit comes ahead of the board’s plans to discuss possible changes to the district’s cell phone policies at its Feb. 20 meeting and amid efforts by some state lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly to force school districts to implement restrictive cell phone use policies.

The cell phone restriction pilot

Since at least last summer, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) staff have been evaluating the district’s cell phone use policy. Meanwhile, the eight middle schools and Rockville High are participating in the pilot program that began this school year.

ccording to current MCPS regulations, elementary school students have the least amount of leeway when it comes to cell phone use while high schoolers have the most.

Elementary school students can only use phones before and after the school day. Middle schoolers can use them before and after the school day, and during instructional time if teachers allow. Cell phone use for middle schoolers during lunch time is up to a school’s principal.

High schoolers can use phones before and after school and while at lunch, during instructional time if teachers allow, and between classes if principals allow. Under the current policy, individual middle and high schools and even classrooms can have varying rules on what’s permitted.

The schools participating in the pilot program agreed to some exceptions regarding cell phone use during instructional time, allowing students to use or access their cell phones when needed for health reasons, such as monitoring insulin levels, or for other accommodations, according to MCPS. Principals have discretion on phone use outside of instructional time, such as during lunch and between classes.

For Silver Creek, participating in the pilot program means prohibiting cell phone use during the school day. And the consequences for students who use their cell phones are swift and consistent, Awkard said.

For a first offense, according to the policy, the student’s phone is taken by a staff member and delivered to the front office. A student whose phone is confiscated can pick it up before leaving at the end of the school day. The student’s parents are also called and informed that the phone was confiscated.

If the student is caught a second time, the cell phone is taken to the main office and the student’s parent or guardian must pick up the phone from the school.

For a third offense, the student is referred to the main office and receives consequences based on the student code of conduct, staff take the phone and keep it until a parent meeting is scheduled and a plan for cell phone use is established for the rest of the year.

Awkard said she knew the policy needed to be “drastic” and consistent or else students wouldn’t take it seriously. The administration initially was looking into collecting phones at the beginning of the school day, but ultimately decided it was easier and just as effective to strictly and consistently apply the consequences, Awkard said.

At Rockville High, the cell phone use policy is more lenient, in part due to the additional responsibilities and freedoms that high schoolers have, Principal Rhoshanda Pyles said. Pyles said her goal is to teach her students to be responsible as they head to college and into the workforce.

Rockville High students can use their phones in between classes and during lunch, according to the school’s “bell-to-bell, no cell” policy. Students caught using their phones in class for the first time get a warning. The second time a student is caught, the phone is stored in a magnetic sealable pouch for the rest of the school day that the students keep with them.

Additional offenses automatically lead to the student’s phone removal and placement in the locked pouch. Additionally, for the fourth offense, parents are contacted. For the fifth offense, students are also referred to administration for potential further consequences.

Awkard said she and her team had been discussing the implementation of stricter cell phone rules prior to joining the pilot program after it was announced. Awkard said she also knew she needed parent support, so she turned to the school’s PTSA, which she said was “100% on board.”

A majority of parents who responded to a school survey supported restricting phone use during the entire school day. Parents mostly were concerned about getting in contact with their children in case of an emergency, she said.

All Silver Creek classrooms have phones, so students could be reached if parents call the main office. And Awkard noted the presence of cell phones could be dangerous during lockdowns if the phones make noise or light up when receiving calls.

Still, Rockville High’s Pyles said there are lingering concerns about restricting use at the high school level. With President Donald Trump’s vow to conduct mass deportations, some immigrant students are worried about not having their phones in case something happens to their families.

[Anonymous]

I thought the article and the pilot were not very compelling since it cherry picked two of the eight schools participating in the pilot, rather than getting a wider variety of perspectives and experiences.

I'm also underwhelmed and unimpressed by the lack of rigor and tangible metrics behind the pilot. MCPS does not know what it's doing when it comes to this stuff and no one seems to demand the level of professionalism and seriousness that you would expect from a school system of our size.

[Anonymous]

Interesting that they only picked one HS. I wonder why…..

[Anonymous]

Not surprised that Principals are saying it’s working. If it’s not working, would they admit? Then they look ineffective.

[Anonymous]

I don’t trust anything they say.

[Anonymous]

HS teacher here. Sorry if I have a fixed mindset but I’m afraid the damage has been done and cell phones are a lost cause. No way can one teacher manage 30+ students and their cell phones while teaching at the same time. A parent meeting is a consequence? What happens when parents refuse to come in, or can’t come in bc they’re working and demand to have their $1000 phone returned? If they are willing to come in, who has time to run these meetings? Are we hiring cell phone police to do all this? Teachers and Admin are already stretched too thin.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, I refuse to touch a student's phone as it may cause an actual meltdown I am not equipped to handle. Also, I'm not prepared to deal with the fallout if said phone gets damaged or lost on my watch. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the article and the pilot were not very compelling since it cherry picked two of the eight schools participating in the pilot, rather than getting a wider variety of perspectives and experiences.

I'm also underwhelmed and unimpressed by the lack of rigor and tangible metrics behind the pilot. MCPS does not know what it's doing when it comes to this stuff and no one seems to demand the level of professionalism and seriousness that you would expect from a school system of our size.

Agreed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HS teacher here. Sorry if I have a fixed mindset but I’m afraid the damage has been done and cell phones are a lost cause. No way can one teacher manage 30+ students and their cell phones while teaching at the same time. A parent meeting is a consequence? What happens when parents refuse to come in, or can’t come in bc they’re working and demand to have their $1000 phone returned? If they are willing to come in, who has time to run these meetings? Are we hiring cell phone police to do all this? Teachers and Admin are already stretched too thin.

I guess you weren’t part of the pilot so you have no idea how it might work in practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I refuse to touch a student's phone as it may cause an actual meltdown I am not equipped to handle. Also, I'm not prepared to deal with the fallout if said phone gets damaged or lost on my watch. No thanks.

What if students themselves place the phone inside a pouch before it is given to the teacher or front office which holds it until parents come in? How could it be damaged?

Have the participating schools actually been able to enforce consequences? are kids at those schools using it in the hallways as they go to the bathroom to use it some more in bathroom?

[Anonymous]

Do substitite teachers enforce no phones? Or are they also using theirs when they sub?

[Anonymous]

It has been so much better this year at Silver Creek with the ban than last year. They put a lot of effort into enforcement early in the year -- seizing lots of cell phones and making parents pick them up after the first offense. There is a marked difference this year.

[Anonymous]

Seizing cell phones. Are you asking for a student to start swinging fist a cuffs. I've seen it. On a daily basis.lol.

[Anonymous]

It is illegal to confiscate private property. These busy bodies need to mind their beeswax!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do substitite teachers enforce no phones? Or are they also using theirs when they sub?

Probably not but this gives them something to do. These days education is a low priority compared to punishing kids and making schools more prison like.