Cellphones have always been challenging to regulate within schools, especially since the rise of social media and the development of mobile technology. In June 2025, the Board of Education instituted a new experimental policy against cellphones in schools. For years, teachers have been attempting to manage student phone use in order to teach their lesson material and keep students on schedule. The differing opinions within the staff and student body have led to increasing discussion on whether this new policy should stay. 

Some people believe that, for safety reasons, it is very important to keep cellular devices present in case of an emergency. Brynn Martin, a senior here at Wakefield, recalls how the school administration handled cellphone usage last year, and how the new restrictions on cellphones could present some safety concerns.

“Say we were in a lockdown or something happened — [a] school fight [or] fire drill — and we can’t contact our parents because half of the teachers take our phones instead of just putting it in our bags,” Martin said. “We have no way to communicate with the outside world.”

Besides these concerns, some students have seen an increase in productivity with the addition of this policy. Senior Sophia Corrao explains her thoughts on how the policy has influenced productivity.

“[Students] will actually pay more attention in class,” Corrao said. “They are more likely to do the work than before.”

History teacher, David Phillips, shares his perspective on the effects of this new policy on student attention. While he believes the new law has done some good, Phillips is concerned that cellphones are not the only distraction students have access to in the classroom.

“We’ve issued every student a Chromebook, which we use extensively in class, and students are still distracted,” Phillips said. “They’re just playing games online and watching videos and doing things that they’re not supposed to be doing. I have come around and I have told many students to stop watching football or playing dumb games, and so in some ways, I find that negates the policy.”

Teachers across all schools continue to find various ways to implement this policy in their classrooms to keep students on task. Economics teacher, James Popek, has had his experiences with the ever-changing cellphone policy throughout past semesters. Popek believes the cellphone policy is important to keep distractions away from the learning environment. 

“I have what we call phone jail, where you get to keep your phone in your book bag all year until I see it,” Popek said. “Once you [mess] up, I’ll take it [and] put it in phone jail.”

Opinions vary throughout the school on what decisions are best to promote productivity in classrooms, and this new law is only a small part of never-ending attempts to increase quality and efficiency of education in Wake County. The struggle for the regulation of cellphone usage has been, and will always be, a divisive issue here at Wakefield. 

“I applaud this new law. I think it is long overdue,” Phillips said. “I think it would have been far more effective if it had been enacted 10 or 15 years ago, [but] it’s a good start. It definitely has improved overall focus in the classroom, [while] digital distractions remain in place.”