Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State task force issues guidance to local districts on school cellphone and personal-device policies
Summary
A statewide task force convened by MSDE and including district leaders, teachers and parents concluded in March and delivered a guidance document on April 30 recommending flexible local policies, data-driven review schedules, and emergency-access exemptions for medical or safety devices.
Maryland’s State Board of Education received a final task-force report on April 30 that offers guidance for school and district cellphone and personal-device policies while emphasizing local flexibility and stakeholder engagement.
Why the guidance: school districts across Maryland already maintain device rules; some districts have moved to strict “bell-to-bell” prohibitions while others use tiered approaches that are stricter in elementary and middle schools and more permissive for high school lunch and passing periods. The MSDE task force aimed to provide evidence-based considerations rather than statewide mandates.
Key recommendations: the guidance encourages districts to co-create policies with families, teachers and students; to publish clear enforcement and appeals processes; to set review schedules (e.g., annually) tied to data; and to include narrow, documented exceptions for medical devices or safety needs. The document offers a model-policy checklist, sample policy language, communications templates and links to research.
Stakeholder concerns and next steps: task-force members prioritized emergency communications and access for families as a design consideration. The department said the guidance will be posted for LEAs to use and suggested the board could later consider a resolution endorsing the recommendations. MSDE staff said they had intentionally included personal devices (earbuds, smart watches and similar technology) in the definition of “cell phone” used in the guidance to ensure coverage of emerging devices.
What districts will decide: MSDE stressed the guidance is not prescriptive; district boards remain responsible for local policy choices and for tailoring rules to school levels and community needs.
