Cell phones may be banned in high school classrooms this fall

WHITEFIELD — Cell phones may be banned in high school classrooms this fall. The White Mountains Regional School District’s leadership team is considering a policy update that would prevent high school students and staff from having cell phones on their person during instructional time. Superintendent Marion Anastasia told the school board on Monday that “[The district leadership team is] leaning towards absolutely no cell phones in any classroom whatsoever” in grades 9-12 for the 2024-25 school year. The school board will hear a full report on the draft policy change next month. It would strengthen and clarify the current policy, approved in August 2022, that requires students to turn off and refrain from using their cell phones in the classroom. The policy was intended to bolster students learning and cut down on behavioral problems. It replaced a patchwork of classroom-by-classroom rules that had existed previously.