As a result of the recent increase in technology addictions and a constant interference to learning, schools all over the nation have officially created a phone ban, including Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS). The phone ban began in the 2025-2026 school year, and created strict rules on technology usage in school; if rules are broken, there will be consequences. 

The rules apply to students that have any portable or wearable devices on them when on school property. This includes but is not limited to phones, smartwatches, and headphones/earbuds. According to the BCPS Board Policies and Regulations, school property includes classrooms, cafeterias, hallways (during passing periods), and anywhere on the campus. Even buses, parking lots, and athletic fields are supposed to be cell phone free. 

Phones must be powered off—not “silenced” or in “airplane mode”—and must be locked away out of the students direct reach. This can take the form of a students’ locker, a device pouch, or the teacher collecting it at the start of class. 

During an emergency, or anytime when a parent or guardian needs to contact a student, the front office of the school is required to alert all parties involved. If any of these rules are broken, it can result in the confiscation of the students phone, parents being informed of rule violation, and on the students’ last offense, detention or suspension. 

Yet, with all these new rules, is a total phone ban a suitable solution for Baltimore City Schools, more specifically, an art school such as Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA)?

To assist in clarifying the new rules, Principal Rosiland Cauthen offers valuable information.

“To be really clear, it wasn’t a BSA decision, this was a Baltimore City Public Schools decision and we are a public school here in Baltimore City; and it’s not just us, all schools across the district are having to do the same thing,” explains Principal Rosiland Cauthen. “Additionally, we’re kinda in a similar trend with what’s happening all around the country. They did the same thing in Baltimore County Schools; they’ve done this in a lot of schools in Maryland, and even around the country.” 

According to Education Week, 31 states and the District of Columbia have implemented phone bans or restrictions. Although it’s a major change, many rules of this policy have been altered to fit into the life of an art student, which Cauthen acknowledges.

“I have made some dispensations for that…in the dance class, part of the choreography might need to be recorded. Or in Visual Arts or SDP, while you all are working on portfolios, you might need to snap pictures of things, so we understand that there are going to be certain times to serve the art that you all will need your devices, and I trust each department to come up with a policy on when that needs to happen.” 

Yet not all departments have altered the policy to fit their practices. For contact during rehearsals/shows, portfolio pictures, and more, teachers tend to be lenient to the use of phones for art reasons, but if you’re caught, the consequences are on you. 

Kayla Castille, a senior dancer, states “For any pointe or technical class, sometimes we set up our phones and record ourselves to see what we’re doing and how we can improve on certain things… Yes, we have an instructor in the room, but not every single instructor gives you a critique… So you never truly know what to improve on unless you see it with your own eyes. And since there’s like 12 – 20 people in one studio, you can’t always see yourself. So, we use our phones to record ourselves so we can give ourselves some critiques.”

Yet, Cauthen describes the leeway she personally sees since these rules were just set into motion.  

“We know this is going to take some time to get used to. No one’s being severely punished or anything.” Yet, if students want their phones with them for safety reasons, updating family, or contacting the outside world, they’re not necessarily given the same freedom. 

Many students in different art forms have their own personal experiences and opinions on the loss of their cellular device. In the world we currently live in, where there are constant school shootings, ICE deporting civilians daily, and the nation’s opposing beliefs about the current administration, students feel more comfortable being able to contact the outside world and their parents directly, not only during emergencies, but in general. 

Ruth-Amelie Kumodzi, a senior vocalist states, “I understand the intentions but however the impact is not the best because having kids not be able to have access to their phone can lead to a lot of unsafe things happening; like look at what’s happening in our world. There’s a bunch of school shootings, a lot of violence, ICE is coming into schools, and it’s not the best to not have kids be able to access their phones and the front office is not always the most reliable for parents.”

With the front office’s inconsistency, it has been known that it is better for the parent or student to contact each other directly instead of going through them.

In reference to the front office response time, Castille states, “Every single time I forgot my dance clothes, my mom would text me that my dance clothes were in the office. She would text me this during 2nd period, which is around 9:00am. I went to the main office around 5th period, which is around 11:15am. I was never informed by the front office that my clothes were there; I was informed by my mother.”

To assist on a different note about time, Castille states, “Not every single teacher has a clock in the room, how am I supposed to know when to leave class? Not everyone keeps track of time.”

And Castille is correct, clocks are sparse around the school. The majority of teachers do not own a clock, or the clock is difficult to spot in the classroom. There are clocks on every floor in almost every hallway in the school, including the cafeteria, but only a few are accurate.

But the phone ban is not only implemented at BSA, it is in effect for all Baltimore City Public Schools. Students at other schools have had their own experiences with the phone ban. 

From Baltimore City College, 12th grade student Westly Johnson gave a different opinion than most BSA students. Johnson states, “I actually kinda like the ban. Other than the inconveniences of needing to shoot an email real quick or check the time in a room with no clocks, it’s not that bad…Specifically for City, the major flaw is that our Wi-Fi sucks. So I need a hotspot…Other than that, no glaring issues.”

The concerns stated mirror some of those stated by BSA students, especially the struggle with Wi-Fi problems. Either the Wi-Fi being slow or fully out and it prohibits everyone, including teachers, from working. Hotspots are an easy fix to the problem, but without phones it is difficult to utilize the resource. 

Overall, Johnson has a positive outlook on this new policy. He stated, “I do think it is a step in the right direction to solving the phone problem. I do think it won’t necessarily work for folks who have been in school in a minute but for elementary and middle school and freshman, I think it’ll really help that focus, attention span and just less overall brainrot the phone presents…I feel like I’m not missing out on anything because everyone is banned and frankly, I feel more connected with my friends.”

Overall, from students’ perspective, the phone ban has mixed feelings yet cannot solve the whole problem. Micah Grimaldi, a junior in the Stage Design and Production (SDP) department, stated “There’s a lot of nuance to the situation and I don’t think any solution could really encapsulate all of the issues surrounding phones in schools.” 

In general, the phone ban disconnects students from direct contact, can enable weary feelings in the case of an emergency, and disables the use of hotspots when Wi-Fi is down. Which unfortunately is very often. 

On the contrary, the phone ban allows students to interact with peers more often, be attentive in class, and can improve social skills. Overall, the phone ban has its advantages and disadvantages.

The newest rule against tablets/iPads came out on October 1, according to an email from vice principal Thomas Askey. With new rules still arising against devices, and different adults’ beliefs on how this is a good or bad solution for students, it all comes down to our schools and the board’s response to our actions.

To contact this writer, email Muse Newspaper at musebsa@bsfa.org.

This story was written in partnership with The Banner Youth News Lab. 

Featured photo by Cyrus Croslin for The Muse.