State education panel hears that phone-free school policy could block some college coursework without tech fixes

Community College of Vermont officials and a State College System technology lead told the Vermont House Committee on Education that a statewide bell-to-bell phone‑free schools policy could prevent some high school students from accessing college courses taught for credit unless districts or the bill include exceptions or adopt new technical workarounds.

Kate Mobley, dean of enrollment and community relations at CCV, told the committee that dual and concurrent enrollment programs — which let high school students earn college credit — rely on the campus learning management system, Canvas, and on multifactor authentication that typically requires a code or app on a personal device.

"Because these classes are for both high school but also college credit, it's our accreditation that holds the standard of that class," Mobley said. "We have students utilizing our learning management system. . . . Unfortunately, we are now in a world where multifactor authentication is a requirement for our learning management system."

Mobley provided the committee with the scale of the issue at CCV this year: about 1,400 Vermont high school students enrolled in…