Kids across Vermont will be banned from using smartphones during the school day this year as a new state law takes effect.
Although schools are newly required to have policies on banning phones from the classroom, many schools around the state have tried out the ban for the last year or two. And staff in those districts say students have been more attentive in class, more social and less likely to engage in cyber bullying.
“We’ve had overwhelming positive responses from families, from students, from teachers,” said Ryan Heraty, superintendent of the Lamoille South Supervisory Union. This is the third year the district will restrict phones in schools, he said.
Vermont passed its law banning cellphones from schools in 2025 amid a nationwide movement concerned about the cognitive and emotional impacts of social media and smartphone use among youth.
Vermont’s law prohibits students from using cellphones and other personal electronic devices, such as tablets and smartwatches, during the school day unless necessary for their healthcare or academic accommodations.
School districts have discretion, though, over how they enforce the prohibition. This school year they’re required to have district policies that are at least as restrictive as the model policy released by the Vermont Agency of Education.
In some schools, students are required to leave their phones in their lockers or at home, while students at other schools must keep them in magnetically sealed pouches throughout the day. And at others, kids can keep their phones quietly stored in their backpacks.
Advocates and lawmakers who supported the state’s law say that certain schools’ policies that are compliant with the law still don’t go far enough.
“It’s not setting kids up for success,” said Rep. Angela Arsenault, D-Williston, referring to policies that allow kids to keep their phones in their backpacks or close by.
Arsenault, who spearheaded the provision in the legislature, said research shows that as long as a student’s phone is nearby, the temptation to use it is there.
What schools are doing
Some school districts, like the Lamoille South Supervisory Union, were ahead of the curve.
The district’s movement to ban phones from schools started two years ago when teachers across the district grew concerned about students using their phones in class, according to superintendent Heraty.
After hearing complaints from teachers, the district surveyed parents and found overwhelming support for restricting phone use in classrooms, Heraty said.
Rather than collecting students’ phones or providing locked magnetic pouches, schools simply require kids to leave their phones in their lockers, cars or at home, Heraty said. With that method, the school doesn’t have to spend money on methods to store phones, and school staff don’t have to be responsible for the devices.
“Really, this is a trust situation, and we’re going to have high expectations for students,” Heraty said.
Since restricting phones from the classroom, Heraty said that cyberbullying has decreased, students are less distracted and student achievement has improved.
Jay Nichols, the executive director of the Vermont Principal’s Association, described similar reports from principals and superintendents across the state. Most schools leaned into the phone ban last year, he said, and he’s heard overwhelmingly positive results.
Across the state, different schools are trying out different methods to help keep kids away from their phones, Nichols said. Some schools, like Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, have invested in magnetically sealed cell phone pouches. Others have created small cubbies or lockers made for phones, he said.
Wendy Baker, superintendent of the Addison Central School District, said that her district’s approach to restricting devices can vary depending on the student. Some kids are allowed to keep their phones with them during the school day, while others are expected to leave their phones in the school’s office, she said.
“It really just depends on what the student needs in order to support them,” Baker said.
Lasting concerns
Laura Derrendinger, an advocate for passing the law, said that she — like Arsenault — takes issue with kids being able to keep their phones within reach throughout the school day.
Derrendinger’s 15-year-old daughter, A.M. Derrendinger, formerly attended a Waldorf school in Vermont before attending the Sharon Academy. At her former school, she said, kids were given magnetic pouches to hold their phones throughout the school day.
Still, A.M. Derrendinger said kids would break into the pouches. She would walk into the bathroom to find other girls were on their phones, she said. Some students would find ways to talk to Siri through the pouches, she said.
They were still a distraction.
Laura Derendinger said the advocacy organization she helps lead, called VT-IRL.org, is grading schools around the state based on their compliance with a model policy that her advocacy organization supports.
Schools will only receive an A grade from her organization if students have to store their phones in a central location for the entire school day, she said. It’s the only model in which “there’s no risk of a child being tempted even,” she added.
“That is the least expensive and most effective solution,” she said.
