The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee voted 5-3 to approve a new policy that would require students’ cell phones and other personal devices to be locked away during class time.

The “away for the day” rule will give each student a bag to store their technology in during the school day. Cell phones, previously collected before class, will now be locked in the bag. Earbuds, headphones, and smartwatches must be locked away, as well as other personal devices.

The policy comes with the school providing each student with a Chromebook and is the result of a government grant to reduce student distractions, several public forums and a school working group.

The regulation was passed three weeks before the next school year.

School staff have strongly supported a Chromebook for each student. All 66 teachers surveyed by the school supported such a policy.

Principal Sara Dingledy expects students to be frustrated at first, but says she is looking forward to creating a more pleasant learning environment.

“I think we anticipate that it will feel like a major disruption to students,” she told the Times. “We believe it’s the right thing for students and it’s good for the school and our work to teach prosocial behavior and put student education first… we know that if you persist with that, the results are really positive.”

The policy cites fewer distractions, more social interaction, mental health benefits and improved academic performance as desired outcomes of a phone and social media-free learning environment.

“Research shows that reducing phone use counteracts current trends of social disadvantage among youth by encouraging students to interact more with their peers in the hallways, cafeteria, and during recreational activities,” the rules state.

The high school joins many schools across the country that are strictly regulating cellphone use. The New York Times reported this month that eight states have passed laws or rules this year to restrict student cellphone use in schools.

Before the changes were incorporated into the student handbook, the MVRHS School Committee discussed new updates to the proposal, how best to communicate the policy’s penalties to students, and whether the rules are clearly defined.

The policy also provides penalties for repeat violations. The school will confiscate the cell phone after the first prohibited use and notify the student’s parent or guardian.

If the cell phone law is violated a second time, the device will be confiscated and can only be picked up at school by the student’s parents or guardians. The student will also have to stay after school and sign a behavior contract agreeing to comply with the rules.

Third and repeated violations will result in the aforementioned penalties, which parents must recover, as well as expulsion from school and possibly loss of extracurricular activities. The student and his or her parents will also be required to attend a conference with teachers and a school administrator at this time.

The “disposable phones” mentioned in the rules – which, according to Principal Dingledy, are non-functional or counterfeit phones designed to fool the system – are permanently confiscated. Many models of realistic-looking phones are widely available on the Internet.

Dingledy said at Monday’s committee meeting that students will be able to take their phones outside during campus hours and that the school will not search bags or set up metal detectors.

The three votes against this measure came from committee members Mike Watts, Skipper Manter and Kathryn Shertzer.

At the meeting, Watts criticized the use of the word “may” in the proposed changes to the handbook, saying it created a worrying lack of safety. The rules state: “The student may be excluded from class for continued non-compliance.”

He also called for the school to be more specific in its wording of punishment, including for students who commit other violations.

“Are we going to ban a child who has had problems with vaping once and earbuds three times from playing football?” he asked.

Principal Dingledy defended the use of the word “may” in the rule, saying that a punitive environment is not the goal of the policy. She also pointed out that the student handbook requires hearings and discretion before students are disciplined.

“We are neither judge nor jury,” she said after Watts raised concerns. “Leaving a will there is like a zero-tolerance policy, and there is no conversation, no redress, no wiggle room.”

“If the impression is created that it is only about consequences, then I would find that a shame,” she added.

Watts also asked what concessions would be made for students who monitor their health on a personal device. Dingledy responded that the school would work to make exceptions. A frequently asked questions document she provided to the committee after the vote also states that students with medical issues who need to use a phone will be allowed to do so under their 504 plans, which support students with disabilities.

Committee member Kelly Scott asked the school to inform the committee at the end of the school year how the violations were dealt with.

Speaking to The Times, Dingledy explained the story behind the new rules, which began with an $18,000 state grant to reduce student distractions from technology. She added that the school has held two forums for parents and community members and formed a technology team to work on the policy in the first half of 2023.

Eighth-graders were informed of the new policy in the spring. One concern students had, Dingledy recalls, was that students would not have cell phones at lunch. “We often heard that cell phones are a good way to keep yourself entertained when you don’t have anyone at lunch,” she says. To encourage socialization at lunch, Dingledy said the school will hold lunch with more students together and encourage other social and athletic activities.

The school’s information technology (IT) director also strongly supported the Chromebook policy. IT Director Rick Mello told the committee in April that the policy would save class time because it would eliminate all non-Chromebook-related IT issues he would have to resolve.

If lost, the student must replace the Yondr branded device bag. The first replacement costs $15. Each subsequent replacement costs $30, approximately the cost of the bag under the policy.