BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — Ahead of the 2026-2027 school year, the Barrow County School System is reviewing plans for its K-8 state-mandated cellphone ban.
At the Nov. 18 board meeting, Barrow County officials reviewed policies for bell-to-bell phone bans for kindergarten through middle school classes.
The policy requirement was set by Georgia’s Distraction-Free Education Act, which mandates electronic devices be restricted for K-8 students during school hours.
According to the Barrow County Board of Education documents, the coming school year will feature blocks on all personal electronic devices during school day hours.
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The devices must be stored, secured, silenced and out of sight from school bell to school bell.
To make that happen, the board plans to have devices turned off and placed in school-designated locations where they cannot be access by students without prior authorization from school officials.
The bell-to-bell device ban includes all class times, breaks, lunch times, assemblies, recess times and during school-related activities between the start and end of a school day.
Students found to violate the policies will be subject to what Barrow County called progressive consequences in accordance with the district’s code of conduct.
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