Members of the Concord School Board communication and policy committee discussed the state’s recently passed House Bill 781, which the committee said requires school districts to adopt policies restricting student smartphone use during instructional periods beginning in the 2025–26 school year.
Chair Karen Baker summarized the committee’s reading of the bill and the district’s options: “The bill assumed to be effective for the 2025, 2026 school year requires public schools to adopt policies to limit the use of smartphones by students,” she said during the meeting.
Committee members expressed support for the bill’s goal but leaned toward allowing building administrators and teachers, particularly at the high school level, to pilot approaches before the committee drafts a single district-wide policy. Baker said she spoke with the superintendent, who told the committee that high-school administrators had been discussing operational steps over the summer and that the committee “didn’t think that it needed to be policy driven, that it could just be school driven.”
Members noted several practical issues administrators may face. The committee flagged funding as a constraint: “it is unfunded, so anything that we direct by policy as far as the purchasing of, like, secure security bags or whatever it is that they may request… we just don't have a funding stream for that,” Baker said. Committee members asked staff to coordinate with the superintendent and the high school, and Baker proposed a check-in a month or so into the school year to see how local implementation is proceeding.
The group discussed exemptions the law explicitly requires: Baker read that district policy must allow approved exceptions determined by the superintendent “with respect to student medical disability or language proficiency needs,” and that policies “shall not prohibit students with medical needs such as insulin pumps, glucose sensors, or disabilities from using a device to support their learning as identified by an IEP or under Section 504.” Committee members agreed to incorporate similar language in any district policy.
Committee members raised enforcement and practical concerns. One member noted possible anxiety for students if phones are stored in visible pockets; another asked about watches and other connected devices and whether they would count as phones under a ban. Members discussed possible temporary solutions — for example, pocket sleeves — and the potential for unintended consequences such as increased student anxiety. Several members said they expect the New Hampshire School Board Association to circulate recommended language that districts may adopt as interim guidance.
No formal motion or vote was taken on HB 781; the committee recorded its plan to let administrators implement the requirement at the school level and to check in with the superintendent and high-school staff in the coming months.