The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System recently presented data and survey results from the first year of the new phone and expanded electronic devices policy.<\/p>\n
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW<\/a>) \u2013\u00a0The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System<\/a> recently presented data and survey results from the first year of the new phone and expanded electronic devices policy<\/a>, which bans using cell phones during the school day and requires that phones remain off or silenced and kept out of sight in classrooms and hallways.<\/p>\n Since implementing this policy, there has been a 29.2% increase in cell phone and personal electronics violations from 2024-25 to 2025-26, up from 1,385 to 1,789. However, the number of repeated Category 2 offenses has dropped from 78 to 45 \u2013 suggesting that students are getting the message.<\/p>\n \u201cRecent studies have shown that when cell phones are banned from schools, learning improves, distractions decrease, and students are more likely to engage in conversation with one another,\u201d stated the presentation by CMCSS spokesman Anthony Johnson at the Feb. 24 School Board<\/a> meeting.<\/p>\n Most parents, employees like cell phone ban<\/p>\n The presentation included comments from staff and parents on the changes.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the new cell phone policy has been beneficial to the school environment,\u201d said an adult stakeholder. This was reinforced with 69% of all parents\/guardians stating that they agree with and stand behind the CMCSS phone policy decision. This was also backed by the 70% of school employees who agreed with the decision.<\/p>\n Although parents and staff have found this change beneficial, students haven\u2019t been as supportive. \u201cThe main consensus is that students don\u2019t like the new policy, even if it benefits them,\u201d said a stakeholder from the presentation. \u201cMany students have trouble communicating with others, likely due to isolation resulting from our formative years being during the COVID pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n |\u00a0ADD US ON GOOGLE NEWS:\u00a0Click here to see more local news from Clarksville Now<\/a><\/p>\n Some parents and guardians have objected to the policy change. Johnson said those parents have been saying, \u201c\u2018If there\u2019s an emergency, I want to be able to contact my child.\u2019 That\u2019s what I have seen most of the time when there\u2019s been a concern, and I just remind them that the phone is still there, and if there\u2019s an emergency, your child would have access to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Communicating during school hours<\/p>\n Elijah Fuller, CMCSS School Board student member, said there have been issues surrounding coaches needing to reach out to their athletes during school hours, trying to use text or message platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cSome coaches are just set in their ways, and I know a lot of coaches will use Remind or GroupMe,\u201d Fuller said. \u201cStudents aren\u2019t taking the initiative to download the StudentSquare.\u201d This is the CMCSS-approved communication tool, which is available on student laptops used during the school day. \u201cI wish that I had seen more students who had taken the initiative to get their information from their coaches, also some coaches that don\u2019t realize they can send an announcement at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson told the board the administration is working toward getting all coaches to use CMCSS tools to communicate with students, particularly StudentSquare.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that we are going to spending a lot of time this summer on is training our high school principals because high school students have access to StudentSquare. It\u2019s an underutilized feature that we want to see utilized 100%. So StudentSquare will be the solution to this problem,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n