The Oglethorpe County Middle School will not see “too much of a change” in regard to cellphone and personal electronic device policies next school year.
“(The school doesn’t) allow (cellphones) and they never have,” Superintendent Beverley Levine said. “For the middle schoolers, they’ve got to keep it out of sight.”
A new Georgia law, House Bill 340 will go into effect in July 2026 and ban students in grades K-8 from using cellphones or other personal electronic devices during the school day.
This will include instructional time, breaks, transitions between classes, assemblies and other school-related activities. Exemptions will be allowed for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or medical plans requiring device use.
The phone ban policy must be presented to the Board of Education, set for public review for 30 days and approved by Jan. 1, BOE chair Becky Soto said.
She said principals met with Levine to decide how to implement the law and educated both parents and students on the new parameters.
Levine added that middle school students are asked to place their cellphones inside their bookbags, which are to be stored in lockers during the school day. Bookbags are not allowed inside the classroom.
In the case of an emergency, policies have yet to be updated, she said.
“They’ve got to keep (cellphones) out of sight, (which is) what you don’t want, obviously, in a medical emergency,” she said. “That’s different. There have got to be enough people there.”
She said in the event of a safety emergency, “you don’t want a lot of kids on cellphones because they tie up all the lines.”
“Obviously, in case of an emergency, when it was safe, we would allow students to get their cellphones and call at that time, but during the emergency, no,” she said.
She added some Georgia schools have gone into a “total ban” and included high school students. OCHS students are able to use cellphones at breakfast and lunch, but not in the classroom or between classes.
“(The ban) doesn’t impact (our) high school, so (they) can pretty much still do what they want,” she said. “We just feel like, at lunchtime, we’d rather give them some flexibility to be able to use it so they put it away the rest of the day.”
School system sets rules for vape use
The Oglethorpe County School System has set procedures for vape use at school or at school-sponsored events.
If a student is caught in possession of a vape, or has used one during the school day or at school-sponsored events, a juvenile complaint will be filed with the possibility of the following consequences (which are at the discretion of the prosecutor):
- The student and parent/guardian will meet with the prosecutor.
- Parents will face a $75 fine.
- The student will be required to complete community service.
- The student will be required to take a class on the dangers of vaping.
A second offense will result in the student going to juvenile court.