Sharing tearful testimony during public comment at a school board meeting, parents urged the Howard County Public School System to crack down on cellphone use in schools by instituting a clear policy.

“What are we waiting for? Why are we risking the mental health of children to preserve individual right to access and use,” Jennifer Hammond said Thursday. “Excuses need to stop being given, and the adults in the room need to step up and do the right thing ”

The cellphone policy for the Howard County Public School System has been under assessment by an advisory group, and recommendations are to be presented by the end of the calendar year.

Any changes to policy or practice could potentially be implemented when students return from winter break.

During a June school board meeting, Howard County Public Schools Superintendent Bill Barnes said teachers told him that cellphone usage was their number one pain point. The conversation around cellphone use in schools has grown nationally as school districts grapple with increased distraction, safety concerns and mental health impacts due to device usage.

Hammond said her son was thriving as a freshman in high school until a student in his class took a photo and edited it extensively before sharing it with others during school. Even parental controls couldn’t protect Hammond’s son from the “horrendous” messages flooding in and social media vitriol.

“No family should have to go through this, and too many have. Children shouldn’t have to die for appropriate protections to be created,” Hammond said. “Digital devices have no place in the classroom, full stop. They are a distraction and in no way better the educational experience.”

Currently, Howard County elementary school students must keep devices in their backpacks while middle school students are permitted to use them only with an administrator’s authorization. High schoolers can use their cellphones during noninstructional time or when permitted by instructional staff.

The use of cellphones during the transition time between classes contributes to continuing violence in school hallways, Karina Fisher testified. She shared a story of a video where a young girl was pulled to the ground by her hair and was “punched and kicked” by several students while others cheered and recorded. She added that students have said violence like this has become the “norm.”

“With that being said, I am choosing to sit here hopeful for the children of our own school system because some schools have begun to take action, including my own,” Fisher said while fighting back tears over Hammond’s story.

While some states have instituted a ban on cellphones in schools, the Maryland State Board of Education made it clear at a Sept. 24 meeting that Maryland would not follow suit and instead continue to lean on the local expertise.

Officials have repeatedly warned of the negative impacts of cellphones and social media on children and teen’s mental health. Joining a national movement, several Maryland school districts have filed suit against Meta, Google, ByteDance and Snap Inc., citing their social media platform’s contributions to growing mental health issues for students.

Experts also have expressed the addictive nature of the devices.

“I question the logic of allowing phone use when we wouldn’t entertain the idea of smoking breaks or gambling breaks during class,” Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz testified.

Cellphone policies vary in districts across the state. To improve mental health and help students focus on instruction, Anne Arundel County Public Schools revised its cellphone guidelines ahead of the academic year. In Baltimore, the city school system planned to revise its cellphone policy for the school year while in Baltimore County, the district planned to roll out a pilot program for locked cellphone pouches.

Some parents oppose cellphone restrictions out of concern that they’ll need to reach their child during an emergency. Many students also often oppose cellphone restrictions. One student shared testimony arguing for a cellphone policy that allows students to exhibit self-restraint, teaching them responsibility to prepare them for the workforce.

Other Howard County parents shared support for phone-free classrooms and argued that Howard County needs a consistent policy with clear consequences, that the policy be informed by data, and that it should be flexible for Individualized Education Program exceptions. Another parent of two in the district, Lindsay Unger, said that allowing cellphone use in schools violates a public school system’s obligation to “protect the well-being, development and education of our children.”

“The policy should clearly indicate where phones should go and the ramifications if a student is caught using a phone. Explicit instructions and thorough follow-through are the only way to effectively implement this change,” Unger said.

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