New cell phone policy for 2026-2027

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to a private school where they are not allowed to have their phone on for the entire school day. If it rings or if they are seen with it the teacher/staff confiscates it and we are charged $50. Once we pay the fine the phone is returned. The system works great and we haven’t had any issues.

The difference is you are paying for that. You have a choice in that you can go to any school you want. We are stuck with public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will only support the ban of phones at lunch when they get rid of 1:1 laptops for students. All they’re doing now is actually encouraging kids to be checking e-mail all day long since they can’t check their texts. So stupid.

If your kid is so addicted to being constantly available that they are either checking email or texts all day long, you have a much more significant issue than a phone ban.

[Anonymous]

It’s perfectly fine to check texts at lunch. Now kids will just be checking email more during class. Oh well. Not my problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s always been no smart watches. My son got his taken away in 6th grade this year and I had to collect it from the office the first week of school.

That’s because your delinquent child didn’t have it in school time. My kids watch is on school time all day. He knows I can see when he takes it out of school time. I know you’re going to say kids know how to do things without parents knowing but again that’s because your child is a delinquent and mine is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s always been no smart watches. My son got his taken away in 6th grade this year and I had to collect it from the office the first week of school.

That’s because your delinquent child didn’t have it in school time. My kids watch is on school time all day. He knows I can see when he takes it out of school time. I know you’re going to say kids know how to do things without parents knowing but again that’s because your child is a delinquent and mine is not.

Quit drinking.

[Anonymous]

The difference is you are paying for that. You have a choice in that you can go to any school you want. We are stuck with public.

You can vote can’t you? Most states offer vouchers to people who send their kids to private schools. Virginia doesn’t, mainly because of the voters in Ffx, Arlington, and Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids who sit alone and have no friends in their lunch period. They are the ones who now have to sit there looking around at other kids in groups.

And how exactly would staring at their phone during lunch develop their social skills? Maybe now they will look at a neighbor who is also sitting alone and figure out how to connect, develop their social skills, and improve their mental health. Screens are what got some kids into a pit of loneliness.

I applaud the district/state for trying to improve learning and connection, though I will miss being able to communicate a change in plans to my kid. Hope the main office is ready for the barrage of phone calls coming in to “please contact my kid about…”. And will they have a landline the kids can use to call home if needed? They can’t just cut parents off.

Every classroom and office has a landline in every school.

Kids will still turn their phones on immediately at the dismissal bell and see anything you’ve texted mid day, but schools also have always had procedures in place to contact kids in an urgent situation. I suspect once it is a smidgen of effort to contact kids, a lot of what seemed urgent to many of the parents will be able to wait until 3 pm.

It’s worked fine in middle schools where phones were completely restricted this year, it will work fine in high school too.

I'm a parent of a kid in another county with a ban. No the kids are not allowed to use the office phone or the classroom phones. If a parent calls the office with a message for your kid, they office policy is to EMAIL the kid. Which they will not get since they can't have their phones. It's a mess.

Clearly if there was a real emergency they would get ahold of your kid more quickly.

I applaud the school for emailing dumb sht like, “dad is going to pick you up instead of mom” or “don’t forget to walk the dog when you get home”. It can wait until 3:00 without issue.

Email can be accessed from laptops at lunch, texts can be read at 3:01.

you think laptops are out at lunch? no.

of course a true ER can get to my kid, but what about - the orthodontist can get you in at 1:30 pm to take care of that loose wire that's poking your cheek, so I will pick you up.

Just go to the school and pick them up. The office will page them for dismissal. I do it for my ES kid who doesn’t have a phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s always been no smart watches. My son got his taken away in 6th grade this year and I had to collect it from the office the first week of school.

That’s because your delinquent child didn’t have it in school time. My kids watch is on school time all day. He knows I can see when he takes it out of school time. I know you’re going to say kids know how to do things without parents knowing but again that’s because your child is a delinquent and mine is not.

My kid is in 6th and has been wearing it since 2nd grade. She has it on silent and it has never been taken away. Only kids caught texting or playing games have had them taken away at her school. Your kid was using it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s always been no smart watches. My son got his taken away in 6th grade this year and I had to collect it from the office the first week of school.

That’s because your delinquent child didn’t have it in school time. My kids watch is on school time all day. He knows I can see when he takes it out of school time. I know you’re going to say kids know how to do things without parents knowing but again that’s because your child is a delinquent and mine is not.

My kid is in 6th and has been wearing it since 2nd grade. She has it on silent and it has never been taken away. Only kids caught texting or playing games have had them taken away at her school. Your kid was using it.

Well next year they can’t wear it at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the kids who sit alone and have no friends in their lunch period. They are the ones who now have to sit there looking around at other kids in groups.

And how exactly would staring at their phone during lunch develop their social skills? Maybe now they will look at a neighbor who is also sitting alone and figure out how to connect, develop their social skills, and improve their mental health. Screens are what got some kids into a pit of loneliness.

I applaud the district/state for trying to improve learning and connection, though I will miss being able to communicate a change in plans to my kid. Hope the main office is ready for the barrage of phone calls coming in to “please contact my kid about…”. And will they have a landline the kids can use to call home if needed? They can’t just cut parents off.

Every classroom and office has a landline in every school.

Kids will still turn their phones on immediately at the dismissal bell and see anything you’ve texted mid day, but schools also have always had procedures in place to contact kids in an urgent situation. I suspect once it is a smidgen of effort to contact kids, a lot of what seemed urgent to many of the parents will be able to wait until 3 pm.

It’s worked fine in middle schools where phones were completely restricted this year, it will work fine in high school too.

I'm a parent of a kid in another county with a ban. No the kids are not allowed to use the office phone or the classroom phones. If a parent calls the office with a message for your kid, they office policy is to EMAIL the kid. Which they will not get since they can't have their phones. It's a mess.

Clearly if there was a real emergency they would get ahold of your kid more quickly.

I applaud the school for emailing dumb sht like, “dad is going to pick you up instead of mom” or “don’t forget to walk the dog when you get home”. It can wait until 3:00 without issue.

Email can be accessed from laptops at lunch, texts can be read at 3:01.

you think laptops are out at lunch? no.

of course a true ER can get to my kid, but what about - the orthodontist can get you in at 1:30 pm to take care of that loose wire that's poking your cheek, so I will pick you up.

Just go to the school and pick them up. The office will page them for dismissal. I do it for my ES kid who doesn’t have a phone.

High school is different than elementary school sweetie. Kids can’t just miss class randomly. Grades and work actually count here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s always been no smart watches. My son got his taken away in 6th grade this year and I had to collect it from the office the first week of school.

That’s because your delinquent child didn’t have it in school time. My kids watch is on school time all day. He knows I can see when he takes it out of school time. I know you’re going to say kids know how to do things without parents knowing but again that’s because your child is a delinquent and mine is not.

It was in school mode. All apps removed/locked down, only contactable numbers are mom and dad. (Doesn’t matter, there’s no service in the building anyway). Teacher’s email stated that any device with the capability to connect to the internet must be off and away in backpacks all day, and he was wearing his on his wrist when he walked into the classroom so she took it before the day even started. First day of school, watch was taken before the first bell.

But tell me more about how my child is a delinquent.

Before you doubt my story, this was Keene Mill. Principal backed up the teacher and requested we keep the watch at home.

[Anonymous]

The kids in MS now already have an ‘away for the day’ policy for the past 2 years, do this will be just a continuation of that policy. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kids in MS now already have an ‘away for the day’ policy for the past 2 years, do this will be just a continuation of that policy. No big deal.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids in MS now already have an ‘away for the day’ policy for the past 2 years, do this will be just a continuation of that policy. No big deal.

+1

MS is completely different than HS. There are so many more times you need to coordinate with a quick text the after school plans. High school does not have late busses everyday like MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids in MS now already have an ‘away for the day’ policy for the past 2 years, do this will be just a continuation of that policy. No big deal.

+1

MS is completely different than HS. There are so many more times you need to coordinate with a quick text the after school plans. High school does not have late busses everyday like MS.

You'll need to adjust how you handle and plan for post-school so your schedule is not constantly in flux then. Or train your kid to check texts as they litterally walk toward the exit doors