When public school begins on Aug. 25 in Washington, D.C., elementary school students will face a new rule that might be painful: no cell phones allowed.
“Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, DCPS students are prohibited from accessing a cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day when on DCPS school grounds,” a June 6 memo announced. “If a cell phone or personal electronic communication device is brought to school, it must be turned off and stored during the bell-to-bell school day. Each school must establish a system for cell phone and personal electronic communication device storage and implement it in a consistent manner for its students.”
The policy allows for some exceptions, such as when school staff permit device use for educational purposes or in cases of documented health needs or extenuating circumstances.
“As a DCPS parent, I’m so glad our kids will have the support of the District to help them focus on school while at school,” Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Kishan Putta told The Georgetowner. “I was proud to support this measure and I encourage all families to sign the [Wait Until 8th] pledge,” according to which, parents don’t give mobile devices to their kids before the end of eighth grade.
ANC 2E Chair Gwen Lohse agrees. She has not allowed her daughter, 10, to have a phone as yet and strongly supports the Wait Until 8th movement. When she gets her daughter a phone, it will probably be a Light Phone — a minimalist device, lacking internet browsing capability, designed to encourage users to spend less time glued to their screens.
“These devices do have benefits once kids are old enough for them,” wrote Putta. “But study after study has shown the terrible harm that can occur when young, not-yet-mature brains are exposed to them. And especially to social media, which is ubiquitous and very hard to prevent once devices are in kids’ hands.”
According to the DCPS, the new policy requires students in public elementary schools to keep their phones turned off and stored away during school hours. This “bell-to-bell” ban aims to refocus student attention on academics and foster better peer interactions. Officials write that positive results have already been seen from implementing similar bans in middle schools and some high schools, including increased engagement and reduced anxiety. The District Council is considering a law to ban cell phones in all public and charter schools.
“The official ban does not cover private schools in the D.C. area,” said Lohse. “Yet” was implied.
