For years, in schools across America, teenagers’ pockets have been buzzing. Text messages, social media notifications, the news, and dozens of other lines of communication are all held in the hands of the youth. That was until this past summer when a new mandate was passed in New Hampshire, joining our state with 26 others that have a “phone policy required” law, banning phones and other technological devices from school entirely.
The new mandate–passed June 27th, 2025, by New Hampshire’s first term Governor Kelly Ayotte–had been in the works for quite some time before finally being signed into law. In the 2024-2025 school year, Oyster River as well as several other school districts across the state had been experimenting with their own phone bans that were enforced as a school policy rather than a statewide law.
In the 2024-2025 school year, the phone policy required that students put their phones into cubbies deemed “phone zones” during class time, Flex and study halls, but were able to be used during passing periods, lunchtime and free periods.
As of the 2025-2026 school year, the phone ban has increased in strictness now that it is an official state law. Now operating on a “bell to bell” policy the Oyster River High School (ORHS) phone ban states that no student’s phone can be seen from the first bell at 8:15 AM, until the last at 3:00 PM. If a student is seen with their phone out, they’re allowed one strike where the phone is taken to the office and then picked up by the student at dismissal, along with a call home. Any strikes after that proceed in the phone being taken to the office and held until a parent or guardian comes to pick it up.
The reaction to the phone ban has been mixed among the student body. Although some are frustrated by the lack of use during free time, others testify to the increase in focus on academics. Maerwyn Holden-Mount (‘26) states, “honestly, I have two different perspectives on it…obviously I’m more focused on the work I’m trying to do, then on the other hand there’s times when I’m trying to text my mom to update her on plans but I can’t really do that.”
This sentiment of mixed feelings is shared by many students, feeling more productive during school hours, but also trying to find ways around not being able to use their phones as a tool, “I have less work to do at home because I’m doing more of it at school,” states Delaney Toye (‘26).
Still other students find themselves making up for the lost time right when the bellrings, “I use my phone immediately when I walk out of the school building, and I feel like I didn’t have that problem last year, I didn’t feel the need pull my phone out as soon as my foot’s out the door,” states Grace Royal (‘26)
The idea of a phone ban in schools has been kicked around for years as more information is discovered on the negative impact that social media has on youth, as well as the addictive qualities a phone can have. According to the National Library of Medicine, excessive phone usage usually coincides with cognitive emotion-regulation, impulsivity, sleeplessness, and in some cases can trigger worse symptoms for a pre-existing mental disorder such as anxiety or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These symptoms can largely affect school performances as well as social behavior. As social media becomes more entertaining, it becomes easier for an adolescent to live more in the online world than they do in the real world.
For the most part, push back against the phone ban from the student body has appeared to be less prevalent than last school year. “I expected kids to hate it, and I’ve had some rolling of the eyes but for the most part kids seem okay with it,” states Joe Pratte, a Special Education teacher at ORHS.
The key difference between the phone policies of this year and last year is that ORHS is experiencing a total ban this year, with very few exceptions to when phones can be seen during school. This appears to give teachers an easier time handling phone usage.
Perron, the Vice Principal at ORHS chimes in, “it’s easier this year from a management stance, it’s one expectation: bell-to-bell.”
On the other hand, with the student body, specifically upperclassmen, the lack of freedom during times like lunch or free periods seems to be the most pressing point. “I would change that it would be allowed during Flex time… some people don’t have work, so you’re just sitting there forever,” states Holden-Mount.
With an influx of students with extra time on their hands there’s been a large increase of social interaction among the student body, in both good and bad ways, “you might see some more kids throwing food in the lunchroom. We’ve seen an uptick of fights in school because now kids are interacting with each other in different ways. So, there’s positives and negatives. Overall, I think it’s positive.” States Christopher Quirke, a social studies teacher at ORHS.
Over the course of the last school year, the school’s phone ban policy became increasingly lax as students continued to sneak their phones or ignore the policy entirely. However, it appears that having a state law behind the school policy is incredibly effective for student body cooperation. “Last year we had the phone zone which kind of petered off in the third quarter. The impetus of the phone zone was the school administration, while the impetus of the bell-to-bell ban is the state’s legislation. I think it’s a little bit easier to enforce [the state legislation] by the school,” states Quirke.
It’s still up in the air whether the law will have a greater effect than last year’s school policy, and students will continue to fall in line with the ban as they have over the past couple months of school. Still, it’s more than possible that the administration will see a lack of compliance as the year progresses or if more students will voice their agreements or disagreement with the new law.
Phones have become a staple item that most of the world carries with them at all times. In the scope of technological inventions, smart phones are fairly recent, and like all recent inventions, it’s hard to see the consequences until they’ve already happened.
It’s more than possible that bans and regulations like this could trigger serious backlash from the youth of this country, or usher in a new era of ethical, responsible social media use and an emphasis on real-life community building. Quirke states, “The time that students are not spending on their phones they’re interacting with each other a little bit more, they’re having more conversations, they’re developing the skills of being able to talk to each other in more of a social way.”
-Annie Graff
Mouth of the River 
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