DCPS Tightens Phone Policy at Walls
This school year, Walls students have noted a change in the typical cell phone policy. In the 2025-26 school year, DCPS released an updated cell phone policy stating that, “DCPS students are prohibited from accessing a cell phone or personal electronic communication device during the bell-to-bell school day…”. In other high schools across the city, students are required to deposit their phones into a Yondr pouch or cell phone lockers. This policy has been in place for the last few years, with Walls being the notable DCPS exception to the rule. Last year, Walls students were just required to keep their cell phones in their bags during the school day.
However, administrators and teachers noted that the 2025-26 policy may not have been working, due to the easy access students had to their devices. Students were often on their phones during instructional time or using hotspots to access content on their computers. This year, students are required to deposit their cell phones in holders with numbers, located in each classroom, just like the policy from two years ago. In between passing periods, students' cell phones are supposed to be away and out of sight. Mr. Jason Bulluck, who teaches many art classes at Walls, said this phone policy is “helping people make good decisions about learning…” All of this comes as Walls’ personal computer policies have gotten stricter to match DCPS computer policies.
When asked, Jahmir Davis (‘28) said, “I prefer last year’s cell phone policy, but this one isn’t bad.” He felt that last year’s phone policy was effective, stating, “I think it worked for most classes… a lot of people weren’t on their phones that much during class, so I think it was pretty effective.” While the policy itself seemed effective to many, the success of its implementation depended mostly on enforcement, which could vary from class to class.
Still, Violet Listman (‘28) felt that, “The phone policy was best when we had the ability to use them in the hallways and we just have to put them into the little sockets for classes.” This refers to the phone policy from the 2024-25 school year, where students were allowed to have their phones in the hallways but had to pocket them in classes. However, Listman also stated, “ The phone policy isn’t that big of a deal to me… it’s better than having your phones taken away for good… it could honestly be worse.” Enforcement of the policy seems mainly to come in the form of telling students to put their phones away; rarely are students' phones taken. The main difference from the 2024-25 school year lies in students’ abilities to use their phones inside the building, not just being restricted from access in class through the phone pouches. This years policy is a mixture of the last two years – a physical distance from devices in class, and prohibited usage inside the building.
The policy comes with a larger wave of restrictions nationally and internationally. Mr. Bulluck stated, “Humans in this moment are obviously contending with learning adolescence and what to do in terms of regulation with cell phones in the classroom”. He cited countries like France and Australia that are tightening their cell phone restrictions for teenagers, saying, “if that turns out to be really effective for learning and social development then maybe we gotta keep going until there's no phones.” This certainly seems to be the direction Walls is taking, albeit in a more lenient manner.
