Researchers report mixed academic effects of Granville County’s phone‑use policy; board adopts resolution to reduce classroom screen time

Researchers from the Gillings School of Global Public Health presented a mixed evaluation of Granville County Schools’ district‑wide “off and away all day” cellphone policy at the Granville County Board of Education meeting, and the board voted to adopt a resolution supporting reduced classroom screen use and “No Tech Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

The presentation, led by Dr. Carl Johnson and graduate researchers Bex Orton and AJ Ekechi, summarized a year‑and‑a‑half evaluation that combined administrative test and discipline data, surveys of principals and teachers, and focus groups with teachers, parents and school resource officers. The researchers said their analysis used pre‑policy years (through 2022–23) and post‑enforcement data (2023–24), excluding the uncertified 2024–25 statewide test results from some analyses.

The researchers said the study found statistically significant changes in some grade‑level test averages after enforcement, but not uniform gains across grades. In some middle‑school measures (notably in parts of grade 6), average reading and math scores increased in schools where the policy was implemented and actively enforced; in contrast, Orton said,…