One of the biggest headaches for teachers in the modern classroom comes in the form of student possession of cellular phones or other electronic devices, but that will change as of this coming school year.
House Bill 2003 passed the West Virginia State Legislature last spring and Governor Patrick Morrisey signed the bill into law on April 29. The original version of the bill sought to establish restrictions and allowances, but changed significantly before final passage. The stated purpose of the bill shares that “personal electronic devices contribute to a negative classroom environment with increased concerns related to distractions, academic misconduct, bullying and/or harassment, and other inappropriate behaviors.”
Legislators avoided establishing a single state standard, understanding that local Boards may favor different approaches to the same result. The same act reads “County boards of education shall develop a policy that includes, but is not limited to, the requirements established in this policy for implementation at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.”
The rest of the act established guidelines and expectations for the county level policies while still allowing flexibility.
Hardy County Schools currently has the local proposed policy available for public review and comment. The document, available on the HCS website, opens with definitions of instructional time, non instructional time, and personal electronic devices. Also referred to as PEDs, these include cellular phones, earbuds, headphones, smart watches and other wearable technology, tablets, laptops, e-readers, and gaming devices.
Policies will differ from county to county. Hardy County, for instance, will have devices “silenced at all times during the instructional day,” “not visible or in use . . . unless explicitly permitted,” and “physically detached from the student’s body.” This differs from Pendleton County, for example, which opted to purchase small totes for each classroom to store PEDs during instructional time.
Students are encouraged to keep phones in classroom storage, backpacks, or lockers to avoid discipline issues. They can be used for specific instructional purposes or medical needs related to the Americans With Disabilities Act or West Virginia Human Rights Act. Individual Educational Plans may allow their use in necessary situations. A medical need, such as a phone app connected to a blood sugar monitor, must be signed off on in writing by a physician.
The policy establishes a scale of consequences that, overall, must be age-appropriate and abide by the Student Code of Conduct. Three offense levels exist, starting with taking the device and returning it at the end of the instructional day. Next comes device confiscated and a parent or guardian must retrieve the device.
The third tier forbids bringing the PED for the rest of the semester. Consequences after the third tier are possible, but not specified.
Individual facilities may add their own rules to this policy, so long as they abide by it. The law also requires communication of the new policy to students and parents.
Teacher use of their own PEDs is also governed by Hardy County Schools policies.
