97% of students use phones during school
An average of 43 minutes per day, spent primarily on social media, YouTube and gaming
Source: Common Sense Media
Free to Focus: South Carolina's Phone-Free School Day Policy
In June 2024, the South Carolina Legislature passed Proviso 1.103 in the state budget, requiring school districts to adopt policies that ban student use of personal electronic devices during the school day. The goal is to foster a more focused learning environment and help students develop critical skills. In response, the South Carolina State Board of Education enacted a policy to ban cell phones and other personal devices in public schools, effective January 2025.
To comply with this mandate, the Berkeley County Board of Education adopted Policy JICDB – Student Access to Cell Phones and Personal Electronic Devices on December 2, 2024. This policy aligns with the state board's model policy prohibiting the use of personal electronic devices during the school day.
The Berkeley County School District administration will present an administrative rule to supplement Policy JICDB in January 2025. This rule will outline procedures, compliance expectations, and consequences for violations.
More information from the SC Department of Education available here: https://ed.sc.gov/initiatives/free-to-focus/
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We will add to the FAQs following BCSD adoption of the administrative rule to supplement Policy JICDB in January 2025.
Fast Facts
Students not using phones during class wrote down 62% more information
They also scored a full letter grade and a half higher on multiple choice tests
Source: The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Student Learning
50% of kids get 237 notifications per day
Some receive as many as 4,500 per day
23% occur during school
Source: Common Sense Media
83% of teachers support an all day phone-free policy
Source: National Education Association