Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:57     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
This is state law, not an fcps decision (as a few others states but no one paid attention to).

And it’s great and long overdue. Kids are addicted to them and need to be socializing or reading or just staring out the window at lunch.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:51     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids who have trouble socializing should not just be able to bury their nose in a phone as a crutch. Life requires interacting with other humans in real time. We accepted this until the last few years. Parents should not be enabling their children, avoiding social interactions, even if they have a hard time with it.


And yet kids have always been allowed to bring a book to lunch or recess. Same thing.


At least reading is good for you. There's nothing good about scrolling on a phone and watching short form videos. If you're going to avoid the social world, at least replace it with something beneficial.


Ok, Books read on phones and podcasts


It sounds like you have an unhealthy dependence on your phone and you're projecting it on others. It's weird.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:50     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Eh - if I need my kid to know something I just send him an email through his school gmail. I have the password and it's how we communicated when he was at before he got a phone. I send him an email as him to himself with reminders etc.


How do you do that? I tried logging into the school account as a regular gmail and wasn't allowed to.


If you have your child's FCPS account information, you can log in as them (1234567890@fcpsschools.net and then use their password) and send a message to them as them. I've done this before, too.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:48     Subject: Re:New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Are all the high schools closed campus at lunch?
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 16:47     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is so important during the day that they need their phones. Kids went without phones at school for decades. We all survived.


You must not have high school students. I would have said the same thing a few years ago, but my kids check their phones at the lunch break because their coaches text and message through apps during the day to tell them about practice, bus times for games, changes for weather, changes because of field scheduling issues, etc.
I personally have texted high school babysitters during the day to tell them of changes for the afternoon/evening. Communication has changed dramatically since the 1990s, and expectations of being able to get in touch have as well - for better or worse.

I agree that I don't want my teens on their phones all day and I think it's 100% appropriate to have the phones away during classes, but they should be able to check in during lunch. That's just how the world communicates now.

I guess coaches, bosses, etc. are going to have to get used to this and communicate differently as well.


Coaches can post to Schoology groups. Your high school babysitter can check her messages after school.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 15:59     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Good kids now have to be punished because so many kids have phone addictions. Sigh.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 15:58     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
I’m supposed to be upset? This is great news
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 15:19     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
The other good thing about this is kids won't be able to take pics and videos of others without their consent at school, which happens all the time. Then the pics and vids are used and shared, sometimes for mean purposes. Our kids shouldn't have to worry about this at school.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 13:01     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Eh - if I need my kid to know something I just send him an email through his school gmail. I have the password and it's how we communicated when he was at before he got a phone. I send him an email as him to himself with reminders etc.


Does your kid have a cell phone? If so I don’t believe you actually choose email over a text. No one is buying this.


The poster clearly said that the gmail was used before the kid had a phone.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:42     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids who have trouble socializing should not just be able to bury their nose in a phone as a crutch. Life requires interacting with other humans in real time. We accepted this until the last few years. Parents should not be enabling their children, avoiding social interactions, even if they have a hard time with it.


And yet kids have always been allowed to bring a book to lunch or recess. Same thing.


At least reading is good for you. There's nothing good about scrolling on a phone and watching short form videos. If you're going to avoid the social world, at least replace it with something beneficial.


Ok, Books read on phones and podcasts
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:23     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids who have trouble socializing should not just be able to bury their nose in a phone as a crutch. Life requires interacting with other humans in real time. We accepted this until the last few years. Parents should not be enabling their children, avoiding social interactions, even if they have a hard time with it.


And yet kids have always been allowed to bring a book to lunch or recess. Same thing.


At least reading is good for you. There's nothing good about scrolling on a phone and watching short form videos. If you're going to avoid the social world, at least replace it with something beneficial.


Kids could be watching review videos on YouTube.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:21     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:Eh - if I need my kid to know something I just send him an email through his school gmail. I have the password and it's how we communicated when he was at before he got a phone. I send him an email as him to himself with reminders etc.


Does your kid have a cell phone? If so I don’t believe you actually choose email over a text. No one is buying this.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:20     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:APS high schools already have this rule this year. There’s a place kids can go to have their phone unlocked during lunch if they need to contact their parent or employer or something. It’s been fine.


Ok so kids can use their phone during lunch. Totally different.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 12:17     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:yes to the person who mentioned pay phones. WE HAD THEM! kids made calls to their parents during lunch. Heck we could leave for lunch, we could go outside. We were treated like adults!


Absolutely we’re allowed to leave at lunch- so fine, no phones, but then bring back being allowed to leave at lunch.


+1 If we are going back to pre-phones, let's actually do it.
Anonymous
Post 05/14/2026 11:51     Subject: New cell phone policy for 2026-2027
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids who have trouble socializing should not just be able to bury their nose in a phone as a crutch. Life requires interacting with other humans in real time. We accepted this until the last few years. Parents should not be enabling their children, avoiding social interactions, even if they have a hard time with it.


And yet kids have always been allowed to bring a book to lunch or recess. Same thing.


At least reading is good for you. There's nothing good about scrolling on a phone and watching short form videos. If you're going to avoid the social world, at least replace it with something beneficial.