SEMINOLE COUNTY, Ga. (WCTV) – Across several counties in South Georgia, school officials are falling in line with state law to crack down on cell phone usage in the classroom.
In Seminole County, students filed back to class on Thursday and tucked away their phones.
Cell phones are not allowed on campus for elementary and middle school students, and high schoolers must have their phones off and put away.
Superintendent Mark Earnest said the change is meant to shift students’ focus away from screens and back to books.
“It’s more time on task, and our instruction will be better,” he said. “I mean, hopefully our learning will be better, but again it all goes back to the consistency of the school, the administration and the teachers in the classroom each and every day.”
Similar policies are being enforced in other South Georgia districts. At Valdosta City Schools, all students’ phones need to be off and stored away.
But in Lowndes County, elementary and middle school students will have phones locked up – while high school students need theirs off and out of sight.
In Seminole County, district leaders say they’ll enforce the new rules with consequences.
“They’ll go through a progression where there will be a warning and then possibly a parent would have to come pick the phone up, and then eventually you may get into a situation where you have to go to in-school suspension and hopefully not a suspension from school,” the superintendent said.
Nearly 100 miles from Seminole County, Brooks County Schools are also implementing cell phone standards. All students there will turn in their phones to the staff for the entire school day.
Over in Echols County, elementary and middle school students will have their phones locked away in a cubby, container, or locker. High school students must have theirs off and put away.
Jayla, a senior high school student in Donalsonville, said she’s been glued to her phone during school hours, and now she’s hoping to spend more time studying.
“Phones can sometimes be a distraction in class cause I myself last year checked my phone every second when I was supposed to be listening, so I think it’ll actually help students as well as communicate with friends more,” she said.
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Meanwhile, Thomas County elementary and middle schoolers need to keep their phones off and put away, while high schoolers can use theirs in certain areas or if teachers allow it.
But in Thomasville City Schools, middle and high school students will lock phones away in what’s called a Yondr pouch that can only be unlocked by staff. District leaders like Jordan Williams say the change isn’t just for academics – but safety too.
“It made our schools less safe. It comes from what happened in between classes when kids are texting left and right, social media, so we just felt like it has a safety component to it, but two, it’s also gonna help our academics,” Williams said.
If there is an emergency, Thomasville faculty and staff have devices to call for help.
“Every teacher, every staff member has to have one of these badges here it’s a Centegix badge, with this its an emergency alert to where if something happens they can press this and law enforcement – not just SROs – first responders are notified and they come to the scene,” he said.
WCTV has contacted Decatur, Grady, Lanier, Miller and Clinch counties about their cellphone policies. This article will be updated when we hear back.
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