New Hanover County Schools to consider new cell phone policy

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Another school district in the Cape Fear is looking into the possibility of locking up students’ cell phones as a way of limiting texting and social media in class.

At their agenda review meeting on Tuesday, the New Hanover County School Board was set to hear from the company Yondr, who makes pouches for cell phone free spaces.

However, as the meeting approached its scheduled end time, Board Member Stephanie Kraybill made a motion to table the presentation until the board’s next meeting on August 6. 

If the school board approves using the pouches, the new policy would be similar to a pilot program already in place in Brunswick County where students put their cell phone in a secure pouch for the entire school day. The policy is designed to increase student engagement in classrooms. 

Although the board did not hear from Yondr, Assistant District Attorney Ashton Herring provided a presentation on cell phone usage. Herring noted that a major concern about cell phone use in schools is the sharing of sexually explicit images and videos among students. 

“I have seen a significant number of cases arising from the schools where kids have possessed obscene material on their cellphones, and it typically either is distributed while they’re at school in possession of those cell phones, or is it discovered while they’re at school in possession of those cell phones,” Herring said. 

Herring added that many students and parents are not aware that simply possessing sexually explicit images of a minor is a felony, even if the minor took the photo themselves. 

According to a Pew Research poll conducted last month, more than 70% of high school teachers say cell phone use is a major problem in their classroom.