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Rockingham County board debates all-day phone limits for high schools; proposal advances to future action
Summary
Administrators proposed extending the district’s middle-school phone rules to high schools, barring student-owned devices during the instructional day and allowing them after school and at extracurriculars; trustees debated enforceability and safety, and the policy remained at the information stage with public comment calling for a trial period.
Rockingham County Public Schools administrators presented a proposed revision to student device policy on July 8 that would align high-school device rules with current middle-school practice: students could use personally owned devices after school, at extracurricular events and on buses, but devices would not be permitted during the instructional day.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Oliver said the draft policy "duplicates the policy and how we are handling cell phones at the middle schools" and that a similar approach at Rockingham Academy "has gone quite well," adding that clearer rules reduce ambiguity and help enforcement across classrooms. "I do think that this policy will make provide more clarity to that and make it such that every kid will know that it's just not you're not able to have it out between 8 and 3," he said.
Board members expressed mixed views. Miss Lohr said she supports restricting phones but worries about enforcement and the district adding more rules that are not consistently enforced. Miss Burgoyne emphasized both the distracting nature of phones and safety concerns, saying she wants students to have access to phones for emergencies but not during class. Miss Hurst raised the 'cone of responsibility' argument, suggesting students need graduated responsibility and that removing phones entirely in high school could hinder that development.
Community speakers strongly favored stricter limits. Several public commenters cited research and books such as Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, urged pilot testing (for example, “one semester without phones”), and recommended explicit rules for buses and elementary students. Ruth Robertson, a parent, told trustees she "wholeheartedly agree[s] with no cell phone use during school," citing family experience in other countries and concerns about mental health.
The item was presented as an information item; board members did not take final action at this meeting. Chair Cross said the device policy will return as an action item at the next meeting after the board considers public feedback and staff implementation details.
Next steps: staff will refine enforcement guidance and consider community input before an action vote at a subsequent meeting.
