Students, parents and staff urge changes to new personal‑device policy as public comment centers on Spotify ban and safety concerns

Several students, parents and contractors used the public‑comment portion of the Howard County Board of Education's Feb. 27 meeting to press the board on the recently revised personal‑device policy and related technology restrictions.

Gavin Falcone, a student at Long Reach High School and first vice president of the Howard County Association of Student Councils, said students want the board to reconsider parts of the policy that remove apps such as Spotify from school devices and limit personal device access. "We greatly appreciate" board members who attended HCAAS meetings, Falcone said, and asked the board to "come to us, please," arguing music helps him manage anxiety and focus in class.

Neil Shindelia, a sophomore at Howard High School, told trustees he surveyed students, teachers and parents and asked the board to allow phone use during early release, lunch and to simplify medical exemptions for devices used for health monitoring. "Students with chronic conditions rely on heart‑rate monitors, digestion tracking, and insulin apps, real time health needs that should not require daily clearance," Shindelia said.

Other student speakers asked the board to add targeted exceptions for specific programs and classes. Aaron Alister, a junior at River Hill High School, said some digital‑education and performance classes rely on smartphone cameras and apps for coursework and submitted examples where Chromebook cameras and built‑in scanners do not produce usable images.

Parents and community members at the forum framed the device debate within broader concerns about curriculum and equity. Speakers from Moms for Liberty and similar groups criticized classroom materials they called "critical race theory" and threatened OCR complaints; the board did not act on those requests at the meeting.

Superintendent Michael Barnes and staff said the district will implement the board's policy beginning Monday and monitor implementation, with a plan to collect data and return recommendations if changes are warranted. Barnes told the board the district will use the implementation period to identify legitimate health and instructional exceptions, but he warned that inconsistent exceptions could undermine fidelity of the policy.

What the board…