The Paulding County School District has unveiled a new cellphone policy for the 2026-2027 school year, effectively banning any and all student use of phones during the school day, mainly at the high school level. These changes were made in unnecessarily early conjunction with House Bill 1009 signed by Georgia governor Brian Kemp this past May, which restricts the use of phones in K-8 classrooms beginning this school year, and at the 9-12 level NEXT school year. The district has already had tighter restrictions on cellphones primarily at the middle school level which remain fundamentally unchanged with this bill. It’s because of this I’m mainly writing this petition focusing on the high school level.

The high schools have had more freedom over phones during the school day. We have been allowed to use them during lunch and in between class changes with little to no issues. As of recent there has also been slight integration of phones with the Minga hall pass system where students were encouraged to download the app to access hall passes. The new policy bans the use of phones during lunch and during class changes, times which can NOT be considered instructional time in any manner. They are short breaks during the school day where checking our phones for a moment or two is a freedom that is to be EXPECTED from students. Changing this does nothing but restrict the little free time students already have, which makes things even worse.

Phones have become an essential part of modern day society that are expected to be with us by our side, ACCESSIBLE at all times of the day. They have become lifelines of communication for many, and in restricting our access that lifeline is then cut off to the students that need it most. Not to mention obvious safety concerns. Schools have much larger issues to deal with than phones and are far too unsafe to be restricting them. Who knows what may happen. After the tragic Apalachee High School shooting in 2024, I don’t believe any chances should be taken.

The district, in their announcement of the policy, cited research that claims students learn better when phones are out of sight, which is the policy they have ALREADY HAD for SEVERAL years. The new policy does nothing but restrict the access of phones during the little free time we already have as students. This petition is only to reverse the policy back to the way it was for the next school year, to restore the use of phones during lunch and class changes at the high school level. House Bill 1009 only completely applies to 9-12 schools beginning in the 2027-2028 school year.

I’m hoping with enough attention the district will at the very least agree to reconsider for the 2026-2027 school year at the high school level. Phones are an essential for everybody, including students. Restricting their use during the only free time of the school day does nothing but hurt students, and while there’s little we can do about a bill that’s been signed into law, we can at least savor one more year before it actually takes into effect. Together I’m hopeful we can have this reconsidered!