Forsyth County Schools propose cellphone limits during school day, pair policy with Chromebook plan

Forsyth County Schools officials presented a proposed distraction-free education policy that would require students at elementary and middle schools to keep cell phones and personal electronic devices turned off and stored out of sight during the bell-to-bell school day and allow high school students to access devices only during their assigned lunch period.

The proposal, presented by Dr. Amy Bartlett, associate superintendent of teaching and learning, would place the new rules within the district’s JCDAF appropriate-use policy and open the draft to 30 days of public comment before the board takes further action. Bartlett said the policy “is to create environments free from the distraction of cell phones and personal electronic devices” and that the district is “committed to ensuring our students are provided with every opportunity to focus on their learning and engage in positive interactions to support their well-being.”

Why it matters: the proposal responds to local stakeholder feedback and new state legislation directing local systems to adopt distracted-learning rules for younger students. District leaders said the measure is intended both to sharpen classroom focus and to reduce social and emotional harms tied to device use during school hours.

What the district proposed and why - Elementary and middle school students: devices “turned off and stored away” during the full school day (bell to bell). Bartlett said that exclusion explicitly does not apply to buses, bus stops, or before-and-after-school events. - High schools: devices turned off during instructional time but may be accessed during assigned lunch periods. Bartlett described the differential as a recognition that older students need a transition to greater independence: “we heard loud and clearly from some of our students…having one point at least during the day to check those messages and have that communication and teach them how to responsibly use that.” - Exceptions: the policy includes a provision to honor documented needs for students with disabilities or medical/educational accommodations that require device use as described in individualized plans.

Enforcement and modeling: district leaders said consistent, systemwide enforcement will be necessary for the policy to work. Superintendent (Dr.) Young, speaking during the discussion, told principals and staff that “teachers are gonna be the key to this happening” and that employee modeling will be required: “if we're expecting our students to do that, we need to be modeling that from the level of our employees as well.” Bartlett said the policy text includes language requiring staff to model responsible device use.

Technology plan tied to policy: Mike Evans, chief technology and information officer, presented a separate but related plan to assign district Chromebooks to middle- and high-school students on a 1:1 basis. Evans said the aim is to provide a district‑managed device for instruction and to replace the inconsistent BYOT (bring-your-own‑technology) practice that has developed over two decades. "It's a fantastic tool. We want kids creating. We want kids collaborating with it," Evans said, adding that district devices would include content filtering for home use and classroom control tools for teachers.

Evans said the district already holds about the same number of Chromebooks as students districtwide and that implementation would rely largely on redistribution, cases and an optional family insurance program. He estimated a one-time absorption of school‑ and PTO‑purchased devices into the district fleet and cited an approximate incremental cost figure the district has discussed internally.

Next steps: Bartlett asked the board to allow the proposed policy to “sit for the next 30 days” to gather community feedback; staff described an outreach plan that will include posting the policy on the district website and targeted communications. Bartlett said additional regulations and updates to the code of conduct, staff handbook and family guides would follow if the board moves the policy forward.

Public and board reaction: board members generally voiced support for consistent enforcement and district-level guidance. One board member noted a neighboring district’s experience, saying the county that rolled out a similar policy saw cafeteria phone access drop after several weeks and disciplinary incidents tied to phones decline. School leaders said they will instruct principals that consistent enforcement is nonnegotiable if the policy is approved.

Limitations and open items: Bartlett said the district’s policy text was written with reference to recent state legislation (see authorities) but that GSBA (Georgia School Boards Association) has not yet issued a policy code to adopt verbatim. Staff said more detailed regulations will be drafted for administrators to ensure consistent application across all 43 schools.