No Perkins High School students will be able to have mobile phones during classroom instruction beginning with the 2022-2023 school year. The policy change was adopted on Wednesday, June 8, by the Perkins Local Schools Board of Education as part of the new PHS Student Handbook.
Students still can have mobile phones in hallways and during lunch periods. When they head to class, however, students can either leave phones in their lockers or alternatively check them into the phone block when they enter a classroom. The phones should be turned off or on silent mode when in the classroom block.
Students are also prohibited from using earbuds or headphones without the classroom teachers’ permission. Students who violate the policy will face disciplinary consequences.
PHS Principal Jeff Harbal told Board members that the change is consistent with a policy adopted during the 2021-2022 school year that restricted members of the freshmen class from having mobile phones.
“Cell phones have become a pretty big distraction in the classrooms,” Mr. Harbal said.
Teachers and staff also will monitor the use of smart watches that can be used for receiving and sending text messages, Mr. Harbal said.
In the event parents or guardians need to reach their students in an emergency, they should contact the school office, he said.
A similar policy also has been adopted for Briar Middle School, where students must either store their phones in lockers or check them into the phone block when they enter a classroom. Briar also has No-Tech Days on Tuesday and Thursday, when mobile phones must either be left at home or stored in the students’ lockers for the entire school day.
Students at Furry Elementary and Meadowlawn Intermediate Schools are not permitted to have mobile phones in the classrooms.
Students, parents, and guardians can review the 2022-2023 school year handbooks by clicking the links below: