Abington School School District cellphone ban: Everything you need to know

ABINGTON, Pa. - Abington School District is joining the many schools implementing a cellphone ban ahead of the 2024-2025 school year. 

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jeffrey Fecher announced the new cellphone crackdown in a statement Wednesday. 

"With the potential for new legislation on the horizon, plus the concerns expressed to me by many parents and guardians regarding how much access students have to phones during the day, I have asked our principals to develop plans as to how we can help reduce these distractions in our schools." the statement reads. 

Here’s a breakdown of how each school in the Abington School District will implement the cellphone ban.

Elementary

"Principals will maintain a rule of no cellphones during the school day, and will address individual concerns as they arise in grades K-5," said Dr. Fecher’s statement. 

Middle School and High School

The district plans to purchase cellphone holders for use in instructional spaces. Students will have to drop their phones in the holders at the beginning of class and will be allowed to retrieve them at the end of class. 

What if a student needs their phone for health purposes?

"Mr. Daniel File and Dr. Alice Swift will communicate details for implementation to their families before the start of the school year, including exceptions that will be made for students who need their phones for health or accessibility reasons," the statement continued.

The district says it will monitor a bill on cellphone bans in schools that is moving through state legislation.

"We believe these changes will benefit our students socially and emotionally, in addition to eliminating distractions in class, as there has been a growing body of evidence about how student mental health has been negatively impacted by cellphones over time," said Dr. Fecher’s statement.