This year, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is thoroughly enforcing its updated restrictions on the Personal Mobile Devices regulation.
The PMD regulation establishes procedures regarding the use of “any non-MCPS issued device used to send or receive data via voice, video, or text.” This 1992 regulation is updated periodically and includes a list of responsible use guidelines detailing the importance of internet safety and emphasizes how one should exercise appropriate uses of technology.
As a result of the recent update, MCPS students are not allowed to use their phones during the school day unless they are permitted to do so. Students are expected to keep devices in their lockers and are only permitted to use them on school property before or after school. These rules also extend to devices other than cell phones, such as smartwatches, AirPods, and personal laptops not issued by MCPS.
This year, schools are getting stricter about phone usage during instructional time. However, there are exceptions to these restrictions. Students with special needs or other education plans such as an IEP or 504 Plan can use certain devices to support their learning. It is up to middle school and high school principals to decide whether students can use their phones during lunch. High school principals will determine whether students can use their phones during transition time between classes, though this is against policy in certain middle schools.
The policy, which went into effect in May, does not eliminate phones at school but does clamp down on the amount of time students spend on their phones during instructional periods. According to Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight, “updated guidance for cell phone and PMD use is important to advance our district’s priority of focusing on equitable teaching and learning.”
Lisa Cline, a member of the MCCPTA’s Safe Technology Subcommittee, also voiced her support of the updated policy in an interview with Bethesda Magazine, stating that teachers “shouldn’t have to compete for students’ attention in the classroom.” She also said the revised policy would reduce the amount of cyberbullying among MCPS students.
However, some students are not as enthusiastic about the updated restrictions and do not believe they will bring about substantial change. “I think such a strict ban on cell phones is harmful, and also just encouraging people to do it sneakier. Like, I don’t think people are not using their phones…students are still using their phones. They’ve gotten more strategic about it,” Richard Montgomery freshman Go Orringer said. They also emphasize how students cannot access certain webpages on school Chromebooks, but aren’t permitted to use their phones to access those materials. “[MCPS] blocked stuff that was actually educational and helpful; there are school club websites that are blocked while social media sites like Instagram aren’t blocked,” they said.
“If you take your phone out during class just to check the time, teachers yell at you, which is kind of annoying. But high school is better than middle school, because in middle school they expected us to keep our phones in our lockers,” Poolesville High School freshman Pranahitha Kanuparthi said.
Though there are mixed opinions on this updated phone policy and its effectiveness, students are expected to comply by keeping their phones off and away during class. Despite the varying opinions voiced on social media platforms, this policy is here to stay and these changes aren’t bringing up any issues except annoyance. To learn more about the Personal Mobile Devices regulation or the revised sections, click on this link to the COG-RA policy.
Written by Anshi Purohit of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo courtesy of Kiana Hajikarimloo of Northwest High School