Windsor Schools Set Cellphone-Free Rule

WINDSOR, CT — The days of checking a phone at lunch are over for Windsor High School students.

Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, Windsor Public Schools will require students in every grade, from pre-K through Grade 12, to keep personal electronic devices turned off and put away during the school day.

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Superintendent Noha Abdel-Hady announced the districtwide "Away for the Day" rule in an Aug. 6 letter to families.

The rule reaches beyond cellphones. Smartwatches, smart glasses, earbuds, headphones, tablets and other personally owned electronic devices are included. Staff may authorize a device for instruction, and exceptions will remain available for students with approved educational, medical or accessibility accommodations.

The details differ by grade level.

Under a draft policy and administrative regulation, elementary students may not bring personal devices to school or use them on district transportation. If a device is brought to school accidentally, it must remain powered off and out of sight, such as inside a backpack, for the entire day and bus ride.

Middle and high school students may bring devices, but they must be completely powered off and stored in a secure, nonvisible location from the first bell through dismissal. Silent, vibrate and airplane modes do not count as being turned off.

The restriction includes lunch, study halls and passing time. Students may use their devices after the dismissal bell, including while waiting for or riding a district bus home.

Devices used in violation of the rule may be confiscated. Repeated or serious violations will be handled through the district's Student Code of Conduct, which calls for progressively stronger consequences. Each school is expected to send families its specific procedures before classes begin.

Parents who need to reach a child during the school day should call the school's main office, according to the superintendent's letter. Students who need to contact home will also be able to use the office.

The change is particularly notable at Windsor High. In a September 2024 district update, officials said high school students could use their phones three times during the day and at lunch. Sage Park Middle School was already using an "Away for the Day" system at the time.

The Board of Education's Policy Committee had the new personal-technology policy on its Aug. 18 agenda. The draft does not yet list an adoption date.

Windsor's change follows updated guidance adopted Aug. 5 by the Connecticut State Board of Education. The state recommends that districts restrict personal devices from the beginning of the school day through dismissal, though it stopped short of imposing a statewide mandate.

"This is not about taking something away from our students," Abdel-Hady wrote. "It is about giving something back."

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