Student Personal Device Use in Schools
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Current Board of Education Policy
The Howard County Board of Education Policy 8080 Responsible Use of Technology, Digital Tools and Social Media guides personal technology device use in schools.
Effective March 3, 2025, HCPSS’ policy on student personal device use is as follows:- Students will keep personal technology devices away and silenced and ensure they are not a distraction during the student day.
- Smart watches may be worn during the student day but may not distract instruction or be used for reasons other than checking the time.
- A staff member on a school-sponsored field trip may permit the use of a personal technology device by a student in limited situations where capturing a picture or video may be appropriate or contacting a parent/guardian is necessary.
- School administrators and school administrators’ designees may authorize use of a personal device in rare instances such as an emergency for communication purposes, and when allowed as described in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), Section 504 Plan, or Health Plan.
- Personal laptops may be used for instructional activities in high school.
Compare HCPSS’ new policy on student personal devices with its previous policy. →
Consequences for Policy Violations
Consequences for general violations of policy
- First Incident: The personal technology device is confiscated until the end of the student day. Students should turn off or lock devices prior to confiscation. A device that is confiscated during the final period of the student day will be confiscated for the entire next student day. The student may retrieve the device at the end of the day it was originally confiscated to take home but must provide it to the front office upon arrival on the next student day.
- Second Incident & Beyond: The personal technology device is confiscated until it is retrieved by a parent/guardian. Students should turn off or lock devices prior to confiscation.
Consequences for violations of policy by students who may use personal technology as part of an IEP/504 plan/health plan
- First Incident: A phone call to the student’s parent/guardian.
- Second Incident & Beyond: Required conference between the school administrator and parent/guardian, and level 3 responses aligned to the Student Code of Conduct at the school administrator’s discretion.
Key Definitions
Personal Technology Device: Any non-HCPSS device that may be used to send or receive data via voice, video or text. This includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, e-readers, tablets, personal computers, wearable technology, video recorders or other devices equipped with microphones, speakers and/or cameras.
Student day: From the first bell of the day to the last bell of the day. (Note: this will be during posted school hours if the school does not use bells.)
Away and silenced: Devices are not able to be seen by either the student or staff member and are set to make no noise.
Review Process Timeline
Stemming from feedback from school administrators, teaching staff and parents, HCPSS undertook the following process to evaluate the impacts of student personal devices on the instructional and school environment. This process included extensive research and stakeholder feedback, and culminated with a recommendation to the Superintendent and Board of Education on current practices and implementation of the Board policy.Research and Data Collection: Summer & Fall 2024
July 11, 2024: Board of Education Report – Cell Phones in Schools TimelineStakeholder Engagement: September-December 2024
- Stakeholder Survey: Student Personal Technology in Schools, September 2024
- HCPSS encouraged all stakeholders to complete a brief online survey to better inform the advisory workgroup and school system leadership considering this topic.
- Survey Results (PDF)
- Community Conversation, Oct. 1, 2024
- Students, families, staff and community members were invited to attend and participate in a community conversation about student personal technology use in school.
- Public Hearing, Oct. 24, 2024
- A Board of Education Public Hearing was held, open to any stakeholders who were interested in testifying.
- Archived video
- Public Hearing Testimonies
- Public Hearing, Dec. 18, 2024
- A Board of Education Public Hearing was held, open to any stakeholders who were interested in testifying.
- Archived video
- Public Hearing Testimonies
Board Approval: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
Archived videoImplementation: Begins March 3, 2025
External Resources
The effect of social media on well‑being differs from adolescent to adolescent, Beyens et al. (2020): Correlational study, non-US sample, self-report methods: Relationship between social media use and well-being depends on the individual.
A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in adolescents, Keles et al. (2019): Systemic review of 13 studies on the relationship between social media use (SMU) and anxiety/depression/psychological distress in adolescents between 13 to 18 years of age – Inconsistent findings across studies but generally, negative correlations between SMU and mental health, with major caveats that important factors need to be better understood as mediators and moderators (e.g., insomnia, sleep-related factors, perceived social support, personal traits).
Health advisory on social media use in adolescence, American Psychological Association (2023): Summarizes the evidence on social media use in adolescence. Recognizes social media itself is neither inherently beneficial nor harmful, and effects depend on the adolescent’s personal characteristics, how they use it, and their social situation. Recommendations for use depend on children’s developmental stage.
Specification curve analysis shows that social media use is linked to poor mental health, especially among girls, Twenge et al. (2022): Examined the association between social media use and mental health in 13- to 15-year-olds in the UK. Contrary to a previous study using the same dataset, this study separated the categories of some variables. For example, the prior study lumped all screen uses together and found a very small association between screen use and mental health; whereas this study separated social media use from other screen time types and found a stronger relationship with mental health outcomes, especially for girls (the prior study did not analyze by gender).
Smartphones vs. Smart Kids, Jonathan Haidt: Video presentation related to the harmful effects of social media and smartphone use by children.
A Mindshift Over Cellphones in Schools, School Administrator Magazine: Features insights from school districts that chose greater restrictions on cell phone use in schools by students, and details considerations for moving to phone-free schools.
Social Media and Youth Mental Health, Surgeon General’s Advisory: Links an increased use of social media and declining mental health of youth, and provides recommendations to reverse the trends.
Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Cellphones in Schools, Harvard Graduate School of Education: Urges school leaders to consider the pros and cons when implementing policies related to cell phone use in schools.
Should cell phones be allowed in school? Let’s talk about the pros and cons, Care: Explores whether cell phones should be allowed in school, and includes points for both sides.
Do phones belong in schools?, The Harvard Gazette: Explores the balance between cell phone bans to help protect classroom focus with the need to stay connected.
10 Reasons Why Cell Phones Should be Allowed in Schools, Minga: Details several reasons why cell phones should continue to be permitted in schools.
Technology in education: A Tool on Whose Terms?, UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report: Focuses on the possibilities that technology provides for teaching and learning and (pg.83-84) details the ways too much technology use increases the risk of distraction and disengagement.
Want to go back in time? Visit a school where cellphones are banned, The Washington Post: Opinion piece from a reporter who was reluctant to support phone restrictions in schools until she visited schools and read the research.
Brain Hacking, CBS 60 Minutes: Video report featuring a former Google product manager who discusses the intentional addictive construct of social media applications.
Schools See Improved Grades, Engagement Without Smartphones, Government Technology: Explores the advantages after KIPP NYC College Prep restricted smartphone use in schools and raises some challenges that must be overcome to implementing such policies.
Do Cellphone Restriction Policies Work? Teachers Weigh In
Cell Phone-Free Education in Virginia K-12 Public Schools, Virginia Department of Education: Guidance to all districts in Virginia, issued Aug. 15, 2024. Final guidelines will be issued on Sept. 16, and all districts and schools in the state must be in compliance by Jan. 1, 2025.