The summer vacation is wrapped in Duvall County, and the new school year is just around the corner, with classes starting on August 11 for students in Jacksonville public schools.
While families are preparing for the first day of school, the Florida tax vacation at the back at school is in full swing, offering savings for deliveries by the end of the month.
There is one question for parents and children: is it allowed for students to carry their phones at school?
Short Answer: In Florida, the rules vary depending on the school neighborhood. Students have no right to use them and whether they can bring them to school at all depends on local policies. Here’s what Duvall County says.
What does Florida’s new law say about bringing phones to school?
According to a new Florida law that came into force on July 1:
-
Elementary and high school will not be allowed use All wireless devices such as smartphones, tablets or smart watches at any time during the Bell to Bell).
-
Students will be forbidden to use them in the classroom or other school times, unless explicitly said by the teacher and then only in a particular field.
Individual areas can apply their own rules for the use of a telephone, in addition to state legislation. The law does not say that students cannot carry phones, but they may not use them.
What does Duwal County say about bringing phones to school?
Duval County has not yet released this year’s Student Code of Conduct 2025-2026.
According to the Code of Conduct in 2024-2025, last year was made last year on August 7, 2024, and it was necessary that phones were no longer allowed in the pockets of students, marking a tighter shift from previous policy, allowing phones in pockets, as long as they were excluded and hidden.
Since last year’s (2024) change in policy: Students of Duvall County must store mobile phones and other wireless devices – such as smart watches and headsets – excluded, out of sight and stored in a bag or bag during an hour, unless they are allowed by the principal/director or teacher.
The policy remains relevant today until additional updates are made when it is released this year on the Student Code of the behavior of 2025-2026.
What happens to the students of Duvall County violate telephone policy?
While the Code of Conduct of Students 2025-26 has not yet been published, the Code of Conduct 2024-2025 states that breach of school policy can lead to confiscation and the device will only be released to a parent/guardian on the basis of the matrix of discipline. Progressive discipline will be applied for repeated violations.
The Code of Conduct also states that “the expectation is that parents/guardians will only contact students through the school office during school.”
Which students are released from Florida’s new school phones?
Exceptions are included for students with medical requirements for the use of a wireless communication device “based on valid clinical reasoning or evidence”.
Why did Florida want to ban the use of the student phone?
The new law comes when several countries and areas are looking at the prohibitions of phones in schools.
In 2023, Florida became the first state to limit the use of students’ mobile phone during an hour. Indiana and Ohio soon followed. In April, Iow Governor Kim Reynolds signed a law similar to these Florida rules, and New York added a ban on ringing bells for K-12 schools as part of an agreement on his state budget. However, Arizona governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a telephone ban last year, saying that schools were already dealing with the problem themselves.
The prohibition aims to reduce distraction at school and any use of phones for illegal activities, harassment, harassment, threat, infidelity or capture or display of images or video to a student during a medical problem or “committed to violation”.
The bill has also called for a pilot program to test a ban on using a high school phone throughout the school day in six counties.
An analysis of the Pew research center of 2023 found that 72% of high school teachers surveyed say that class phones distract students, although 70% of students aged 13-17 years said the use of the phone was more positive than the negative, and 45% said that their smartphones help them in school. Nearly a quarter of the teenagers surveyed said the phones made it difficult for training and 30% did not notice a difference.
Critics of the law say that complete ban threatens children by leaving them without a source of communication during emergencies, such as school firing, and does not allow students to make a video for harassment at school or incorrect actions by school safety teachers.
This article originally appeared in Florida Times-Union: Duvall students collide with a new school year without telephones under the new FL law