As Walls students transition into second semester, it’s the perfect time to re-examine a policy introduced at the beginning of the school year: the new cell phone policy.  After living with the policy for months, students and teachers have been able to witness and analyze the changes it brought on. 

The new policy, introduced by Walls administration at the beginning of SY2024-25, requires  that all students’ phones be kept in a phone holder designated for each classroom, to be put in at the beginning of every period and taken out at the end. The policy further requires that the phones not be taken out of the holders at all during the class period. This is a policy unique to Walls, as DCPS allows all schools to create a policy best fitting their own individual academic environments. However, in recent years many DCPS schools have moved towards more conservative phone policies.

Some faculty have perceived the changes as a result of the policy as overwhelmingly positive so far. Mr. William Jones, who teaches World History said “There are no downsides that come to mind, or that I can think of.” He continued,“ It’s been beneficial for the classroom. I’ve noticed an increase in focus.” His opinions are shared by other members of faculty. Mr. Corey Matthews (Health, Fitness, Lifetime Sports) agreed, saying “I think it’s helped kids to realize that they just don’t need to be on their phones all the time.” 

Some disagree, including Mr. Alberts, who said that “ No, I have not observed a notable difference in student behavior. The root causes of classroom disruptions typically stem from engagement, instruction, and school culture rather than phone use alone.” Whether there has been a schoolwide change is unknown, as Ms. Moore stated that “ There has been no way to track the effects, so we really don’t know whether or not the policy has had any effect on grades or overall performance. The only way to tell is through teacher experience, which differs from class to class.” 

 Others also acknowledged the downsides to the new policy.  Mr. Matthews elaborated that “A lot of the times the phones can be very helpful as a resource for my class, having the ability to look things up and to use fitness apps and just have these resources was really nice, and you really can feel the difference without it.” This sentiment was agreed with by others, such as Mr. Alberts, who said “A blanket policy does not consider the responsible and educational use of technology. Phones can be powerful tools for learning, providing access to research, language translation, and even serving as hotspots when school WiFi fails, a common issue.” 

The policy has been enforced throughout the school, even by those who can recognize the benefits of phones. Mathews said “ While it can be beneficial, I understand the policy, so I enforce it as much as I possibly can within the classroom.” 

There has been a mixed student perspective as well. Sonja Talwani (‘25), said “I think it’s a bit excessive. Teachers should be able to make their own rules, because sometimes there are uses for your phone in class. I just feel like teachers should have more of an individual choice in that, rather than the administration.” 

Others, such as Miles Bishop, (‘27), have noticed beneficial effects, Bishop says “I think it has been a positive policy. People are more focused in class, which helps with education.” Some students expressed safety concerns as well. May Chand, (‘28), said “ If there was an emergency, such as a fire, I would like to have the ability to communicate with family.” She continued, “ I believe it hasn't improved focus, because kids will use their phones anyway.” Teagan Lynch however, (‘26), was simply grateful. “Honestly, I’m just happy they weren’t banned.”