Nine community members participated in an online public hearing Dec. 18, sharing their opinions on student cell phone use with the Howard County Board of Education.

The hearing is part of the board’s process of determining revisions to the system’s student cell phone use policy.

Gavin Falcón, first vice president of the Howard County Association of Student Councils and a sophomore at Long Reach High School, shared his personal experience attending school under the current cell phone policy and advocated for the use of cell phones in schools. “I was in a lockdown during a situation in middle school, there was no gun, but it was still a lockdown,” he said.

“I messaged my parents because I was worried for my life and I wanted to at least tell them, because the school did not tell them until days later. With all that in mind, at least on the middle school level, I understand stricter rules, but please account for such scenarios and exceptions.”

Ryan Powers, a community member, said he believes cell phones are disruptive to learning.

“Developing minds must be taught how to handle this technology responsibly,” he said. “Schools must first teach kids about more important things that only banning personal devices can do, like how to concentrate for a long time and learn, how to interact with others at lunch, how to sit with boredom and reflect on their own lives.”

During a June school board meeting, HCPSS Superintendent Bill Barnes said when he talked with teachers during school visits, cellphone usage was their top concern. An advisory work group was convened in July to conduct research and present recommendations to the board and superintendent. After community conversations, an October public hearing, a survey and engagement with school staff and other groups, the work group, led by HCPSS Director of Communications and Engagement Brian Bassett, presented its recommendations to the board in November.

Policy changes suggested by the work group included:

No cellphone use for elementary and middle school students between the first and last bell of the day.

All personal devices for students in these age groups would have to be silenced and stored away.

High school students would need to keep devices away and silenced during class time but could use them at other times throughout the day under the recommended policy amendments.

High school students would be permitted to use laptops and Chromebooks only for instructional purposes, not for recording audio or video or for playing games.

The school board was set to vote on work group recommendations at its Nov. 21 meeting. Instead, the board voted to hold a public hearing for more input and have its policy committee conduct a review.

The board is scheduled to take action on the student cell phone use policy at its Jan. 16 meeting, according to the school system’s website.

Have a news tip? Contact Allana Haynes at ahaynes@baltsun.com or Kiersten Hacker at khacker@baltsun.com or @KierstenHacker on X.