Hanover schools confiscated 1,600 mobile devices last school year

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Last summer, one Hanover school official warned of a "mobile device pandemic" as the division pondered an outright ban on all mobile devices during the school day.

That ban on communication devices -- including cellphones, smart watches, earbuds, even mobile gaming devices -- was active by the first day of the 2024-25 school year. Records from Hanover County Public Schools show teachers and administrators wound up confiscating more than 1,600 mobile devices.

Specifically, the policy says that all mobile devices must be powered off and put out of sight during the instructional day. That starts when students enter the school building in the morning and lasts until the final bell.

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About 1,300 of those devices were taken from high school students. Another 300 were taken from middle schoolers, and only two were confiscated from elementary school kids.

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Mechanicsville High School had the highest number of devices confiscated at 394. Hanover High had the least among the district's high schools with 195 devices confiscated during the school year.

Liberty Middle School had 201 devices taken while Bell Creek Middle School had 11.

"It's not so much about (devices) interrupting the math problem on the board, although that's certainly a part of it," said Jennifer Greif, assistant superintendent of instructional leadership, as she warned board members of a mobile device pandemic. "It's the way our students engage with these throughout the day."

Teachers reported that rampant use of cellphones had started impacting real-world social interaction. They also reported that an after-school fight was organized through text messages.

"Staff really looks at this revision as taking that burden off of the plate of students from the time class begins, until the last bell of the day," Greif told the board last summer.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 53% of school leaders report negative impacts on academic performance due to cellphone use. Those leaders say the impacts are worse on students' mental health and attention spans.

That February report said that 30% of schools nationwide have a ban as strict as Hanover's, including lunch periods and time between classes. Around 77% of public schools prohibit cellphone use during class time.

Hanover considered options to police devices -- locking pouches to hold phones, locked classroom storage bins and unlocked storage bins. Pouches were deemed too expensive, at an estimated $500,000 to supply every student.

The school board ultimately chose to create a policy banning cellphone use -- including time between classes and during lunch periods -- while enforcing "zero tolerance."

Hanover's division-wide expectations allow for a warning before doling out discipline to the student. If the student is caught again, the first offense results in the device being confiscated and a conference with administration.

Parents have to pick phones up from a second offense onward. In-school suspensions and a 90-day device check-in, check-out, process start at a third offense. A fourth offense can lead to students losing their phone privileges for the year.

Hanover does have exceptions for special situations, such as students with disabilities and English language learners.

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Sean Jones

(804) 649-6911

sjones@timesdispatch.com

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Sean Jones

Henrico and Hanover Counties Reporter

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