Students tell House Education committee enforcement and equity vary under school cell‑phone rules

Students told the Vermont House Education Committee on April 30, 2025, that school cell‑phone rules differ between middle and high school, are enforced unevenly by teachers, and can interfere with both learning and extracurricular logistics.

The testimony matters because cell‑phone policies shape daily instruction, student supervision and parent communication; inconsistently enforced policies can produce unequal learning conditions and practical challenges for students who rely on phones for schedules and for schools that use apps to communicate last‑minute changes.

Multiple students described the local rules. Bridal Sharon Burns, a middle‑school student, said in her…