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Board reviews implementation, concerns for new state limit on students' personal devices in K–8
Summary
In response to state law (House Bill 340), district staff presented a required policy banning personal electronic devices during the school day for K–8; board members raised questions about lockers, medical exceptions, enforcement and unintended discipline impacts.
Cobb County School District staff presented a proposed board policy (JCDAF) and supporting administrative rules to implement Georgia's Distraction-Free Education Act (House Bill 340). The statute requires districts to adopt a policy by Jan. 1, 2026, with an effective date of July 1, 2026.
"The statute requires a policy to be adopted before 01/01/2026 to go into effect on 07/01/2026," Mr. York said, summarizing the timeline and noting the board would receive administrative rules and later a code-of-conduct update explaining responses to infractions.
The proposed policy prohibits a range of personal communication devices during the school day for K–8 (phones, smartwatches, tablets, e-readers, earbuds) unless used for approved instructional purposes with district devices. Board members expressed concerns about operational details: how to handle headphones used for instruction, whether district-provided laptops (for take-home in middle/high) are exempt, and how to accommodate medical needs and families without home internet access.
Several trustees urged robust parent communication, data tracking during rollout, and local flexibility. Miss Sailor recommended including an explicit liability statement in the administrative rule noting the district does not assume responsibility for loss or damage to personal devices; Mr. York said such operational clarifications would be added to the admin rule and implementation guidance. Board members also discussed locker availability and whether schools could streamline locker-request processes for students whose families want device storage during the day.
Superintendent Ragsdale and Mr. York said schools would not be expected to confiscate devices and that disciplined responses would be applied per the code of conduct. Several trustees asked staff to track discipline impacts and suggested revisiting the policy based on first-year implementation data and state tweaks.
What happens next: the board scheduled the policy for discussion at the evening meeting and staff will provide the administrative rule, communications plan for parents, and code-of-conduct language before the policy adoption deadline.
