New cell phone policy for 2026-2027

[Anonymous]

All of the parents complaining about this are anxious, helicopter, unable to cope, have entitled brat kids, or anxious kids (who could benefit from less phone time) or all of the above.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Did an insecure parent or phone dependent-student start this gripe thread? Hard to know the difference really.

No, a parent with common sense. Kids sometimes need to text their parents and vice versa for whatever reason. It’s not a crime.

Somehow in the way back times, people survived high school without the ability to text parents and vice versa. How ever did we all survive????

The world wasn’t digitized then. We have evolved. Sometimes we need to send a quick text about after school plans to our child and it’s super easy and convenient and you know they will get the message. When my child was in middle school I was constantly emailing his last period teacher about changes in dismissal plans and it was nerve wracking not knowing if she would check the message or remember to give it. Now that we have texting we should be able to use it to communicate with our kids. Lunch is the perfect time for them to read it. I really donut see the need to take them away at lunch. The cafeteria is probably quieter too.

This sounds like a YOU problem. I've NEVER had to contact anyone at either of my children's schools about last minute changes to their dismissal plans. There have been a few time when my middle schooler has had an after school program cancelled and she came home on the bus instead of needing to be picked up, but she texted me at the end of the day and used her key to let herself in when she got home.

So in that case the school communicated to your child that the after school program got cancelled. My child didn’t know the after school private lesson got cancelled because the instructor contacted me to cancel. I would then call the school to tell them but they told me to email the last period teacher. That was the only way my child knew to catch the bus home isntead. Explain to me how else this could have been done.

You text your kid, and kid turns on their phone at 3:00 and sees it. They don't need to see it at noon.

I have to constantly check my cellphone as part of my job. It’s time we accepted that kids’ use of Snapchat and instagram is part of training for their future jobs. We’re expected to be able to toggle between emails and texts and paying attention in meetings at work. When kids are texting and playing games during a lecture at school they’re learning essential skills that they’ll have to be able to apply in the real world. Paying attention to a class without any distractions actually probably harms their ability to develop skills at multitasking.

I hope this is fake but in case it’s not, that sounds like hell.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Did an insecure parent or phone dependent-student start this gripe thread? Hard to know the difference really.

No, a parent with common sense. Kids sometimes need to text their parents and vice versa for whatever reason. It’s not a crime.

Somehow in the way back times, people survived high school without the ability to text parents and vice versa. How ever did we all survive????

The world wasn’t digitized then. We have evolved. Sometimes we need to send a quick text about after school plans to our child and it’s super easy and convenient and you know they will get the message. When my child was in middle school I was constantly emailing his last period teacher about changes in dismissal plans and it was nerve wracking not knowing if she would check the message or remember to give it. Now that we have texting we should be able to use it to communicate with our kids. Lunch is the perfect time for them to read it. I really donut see the need to take them away at lunch. The cafeteria is probably quieter too.

We haven't evolved. Technology has evolved and there is nothing wrong with saying "this is easier and better now, so let's use it!"

Is digital communication with kids during the school day needed? No. Is it really convenient and create an overall time and hassle savings? Yes.

No one says "some parents don't teach their children to take driving seriously or how to drive well so let's all go back to horses."

If our world somehow requires teenagers to be plugged in and text-reachable at all hours, is that really so great?
Just like I keep my work phone put away on evenings and weekends in order to keep that part of my life from infringing upon the rest of my life, maybe giving the kids a few hours of a break each day from their helicopter parents isn’t such a horrible idea.

It’s not at all hours sweetie, just at lunch. Nothing wrong with that.

In fact, there is something wrong with it.
Away for the day is good policy. The kinks will be worked out and it will be worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Did an insecure parent or phone dependent-student start this gripe thread? Hard to know the difference really.

No, a parent with common sense. Kids sometimes need to text their parents and vice versa for whatever reason. It’s not a crime.

Somehow in the way back times, people survived high school without the ability to text parents and vice versa. How ever did we all survive????

The world wasn’t digitized then. We have evolved. Sometimes we need to send a quick text about after school plans to our child and it’s super easy and convenient and you know they will get the message. When my child was in middle school I was constantly emailing his last period teacher about changes in dismissal plans and it was nerve wracking not knowing if she would check the message or remember to give it. Now that we have texting we should be able to use it to communicate with our kids. Lunch is the perfect time for them to read it. I really donut see the need to take them away at lunch. The cafeteria is probably quieter too.

This sounds like a YOU problem. I've NEVER had to contact anyone at either of my children's schools about last minute changes to their dismissal plans. There have been a few time when my middle schooler has had an after school program cancelled and she came home on the bus instead of needing to be picked up, but she texted me at the end of the day and used her key to let herself in when she got home.

So in that case the school communicated to your child that the after school program got cancelled. My child didn’t know the after school private lesson got cancelled because the instructor contacted me to cancel. I would then call the school to tell them but they told me to email the last period teacher. That was the only way my child knew to catch the bus home isntead. Explain to me how else this could have been done.

You text your kid, and kid turns on their phone at 3:00 and sees it. They don't need to see it at noon.

I have to constantly check my cellphone as part of my job. It’s time we accepted that kids’ use of Snapchat and instagram is part of training for their future jobs. We’re expected to be able to toggle between emails and texts and paying attention in meetings at work. When kids are texting and playing games during a lecture at school they’re learning essential skills that they’ll have to be able to apply in the real world. Paying attention to a class without any distractions actually probably harms their ability to develop skills at multitasking.

Oh my. You are equating Snapchat, Instagram, and computer games to work-related tasks an adult needs to complete? Are you serious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Did an insecure parent or phone dependent-student start this gripe thread? Hard to know the difference really.

No, a parent with common sense. Kids sometimes need to text their parents and vice versa for whatever reason. It’s not a crime.

Somehow in the way back times, people survived high school without the ability to text parents and vice versa. How ever did we all survive????

The world wasn’t digitized then. We have evolved. Sometimes we need to send a quick text about after school plans to our child and it’s super easy and convenient and you know they will get the message. When my child was in middle school I was constantly emailing his last period teacher about changes in dismissal plans and it was nerve wracking not knowing if she would check the message or remember to give it. Now that we have texting we should be able to use it to communicate with our kids. Lunch is the perfect time for them to read it. I really donut see the need to take them away at lunch. The cafeteria is probably quieter too.

This sounds like a YOU problem. I've NEVER had to contact anyone at either of my children's schools about last minute changes to their dismissal plans. There have been a few time when my middle schooler has had an after school program cancelled and she came home on the bus instead of needing to be picked up, but she texted me at the end of the day and used her key to let herself in when she got home.

So in that case the school communicated to your child that the after school program got cancelled. My child didn’t know the after school private lesson got cancelled because the instructor contacted me to cancel. I would then call the school to tell them but they told me to email the last period teacher. That was the only way my child knew to catch the bus home isntead. Explain to me how else this could have been done.

You text your kid, and kid turns on their phone at 3:00 and sees it. They don't need to see it at noon.

I have to constantly check my cellphone as part of my job. It’s time we accepted that kids’ use of Snapchat and instagram is part of training for their future jobs. We’re expected to be able to toggle between emails and texts and paying attention in meetings at work. When kids are texting and playing games during a lecture at school they’re learning essential skills that they’ll have to be able to apply in the real world. Paying attention to a class without any distractions actually probably harms their ability to develop skills at multitasking.

Oh my. You are equating Snapchat, Instagram, and computer games to work-related tasks an adult needs to complete? Are you serious?

I'm sure every time you check your phone during the day it's for work...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Did an insecure parent or phone dependent-student start this gripe thread? Hard to know the difference really.

No, a parent with common sense. Kids sometimes need to text their parents and vice versa for whatever reason. It’s not a crime.

Somehow in the way back times, people survived high school without the ability to text parents and vice versa. How ever did we all survive????

The world wasn’t digitized then. We have evolved. Sometimes we need to send a quick text about after school plans to our child and it’s super easy and convenient and you know they will get the message. When my child was in middle school I was constantly emailing his last period teacher about changes in dismissal plans and it was nerve wracking not knowing if she would check the message or remember to give it. Now that we have texting we should be able to use it to communicate with our kids. Lunch is the perfect time for them to read it. I really donut see the need to take them away at lunch. The cafeteria is probably quieter too.

That last period teacher probably hated you if you were constantly emailing her about changes in dismissal plans. Are you that disorganized that dismissal plans changed often enough to need to constantly email a teacher about them?

Thank God most parents have much better executive function; can you imagine if that poor teacher had to communicate dismissal plans to 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 kids in her class?

My child had a private lesson after school that sometimes got cancelled last minute from the instructor. It required a change from kiss n ride to the bus then. It has nothing to do with my executive function you disgusting POS.

Wow, get help.

Get help for what? Someone literally insulted my executive functioning for something beyond my control and for what the school told me to do? Explain how you would have handled it.

DP. Get help for calling people POS and telling them to eff off because they suggest other possible solutions.
Also, your kid can check their phone when they are dismissed at the end of the school day before going to kiss n ride or the bus. Seriously you are freaking out about nothing.

They were called POS because they insulted me by saying I must have poor executive function and the teacher hated me.

[Anonymous]

Disagreeing with the new policy doesn’t mean I am “freaking out” either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now high school kids can’t even use their phone at lunch. Are you kidding me?? How ridiculous.

Did an insecure parent or phone dependent-student start this gripe thread? Hard to know the difference really.

No, a parent with common sense. Kids sometimes need to text their parents and vice versa for whatever reason. It’s not a crime.

Somehow in the way back times, people survived high school without the ability to text parents and vice versa. How ever did we all survive????

The world wasn’t digitized then. We have evolved. Sometimes we need to send a quick text about after school plans to our child and it’s super easy and convenient and you know they will get the message. When my child was in middle school I was constantly emailing his last period teacher about changes in dismissal plans and it was nerve wracking not knowing if she would check the message or remember to give it. Now that we have texting we should be able to use it to communicate with our kids. Lunch is the perfect time for them to read it. I really donut see the need to take them away at lunch. The cafeteria is probably quieter too.

This sounds like a YOU problem. I've NEVER had to contact anyone at either of my children's schools about last minute changes to their dismissal plans. There have been a few time when my middle schooler has had an after school program cancelled and she came home on the bus instead of needing to be picked up, but she texted me at the end of the day and used her key to let herself in when she got home.

So in that case the school communicated to your child that the after school program got cancelled. My child didn’t know the after school private lesson got cancelled because the instructor contacted me to cancel. I would then call the school to tell them but they told me to email the last period teacher. That was the only way my child knew to catch the bus home isntead. Explain to me how else this could have been done.

.

I would’ve just picked my kid up anyway.

You must be a SAHM then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is state law, not the school system’s decision.

That’s what I thought too. “Bell to bell”.

[Anonymous]

Had a chat with my kid last night about giving her the chance to make her own decisions and live with the consequences, self-policing addictive behaviors, not being stupid and how not to get caught. Have fun with this meaningless debate.

[Anonymous]

I love that this is a state law so FCPS has no choice in the matter.

[Anonymous]

DCUM: “too much screen time! Get back to paper and textbooks!”

Also DCUM: “Noooo, my kid has to have access to his phone to text me 47 times every school day!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of the parents complaining about this are anxious, helicopter, unable to cope, have entitled brat kids, or anxious kids (who could benefit from less phone time) or all of the above.

I know you’d just love to think this is true but it’s not. Believe it or not there are good kids who aren't as screen addicted as your own child and can handle phone access at lunch and not have it interfere during instructional time whatsoever.

Sorry your raised the type of kid who actually needs a ban on their phone at lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love that this is a state law so FCPS has no choice in the matter.

That’s funny. Do you think the cell phone police are going to come into schools to check to see if it’s being enforced next year? No one will. Nothing will change. Some of you seriously need to relax. Your kid will still have a phone at lunch. High schools don’t have a way to enforce this. We don’t even have the staff to ensure they currently throw out their lunch trash. You should see the tables and halls after lunch. It’s terrible.

Even if they have a yonder punch, some will put a dummy phone on it and can still get your texts on the real one. - teacher

[Anonymous]

^ and if you really want to help, please sign up to be a volunteer in schools so you can come help enforce this. Bonus if you want to sign up for lunch duty and help tell teens to clean up their garbage. - teacher again