Baltimore-area students returning to school this year can expect less screen time in the classroom.

Districts across the state have expanded or retained existing restrictions on cellphones and other portable electronic devices to prevent disruption during learning.

Here are the school cellphone policies for the six counties in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Anne Arundel County

Anne Arundel County Public Schools rolled out its current cellphone policy in 2024 and is continuing the policy this year, when classes resume next week.

Elementary and middle schoolers need to have phones off or on silent and away the entire school day, including at lunch and between classes. High schoolers can use their phones during lunch, but the devices need to be off or silent and put away the rest of the time.

Superintendent Mark Bedell said in July there would be no changes to the policy going into this school year, but said he “would not hesitate to recommend a total ban” should there be any regression on cellphone use in school.

Baltimore City

Baltimore City Public Schools updated its cellphone policy for the start of the school year. Devices must be off, away and secured during the entire school day, which is defined as arrival to dismissal and includes lunch, recess and passing periods, the district’s website says.

Parents or guardians who need to contact students during the day should call the school to relay their message. In the event of an emergency, students will only be allowed to use devices when given permission by a school administrator or member of the school district’s incident response team.

City Schools’ plan was informed by a pilot program involving 25 schools over the 2024-2025 school year.

Baltimore County

After a pilot program last year that limited phone use in several Baltimore County Public Schools, the district is rolling out a new campaign on Monday, prohibiting phone use during the instructional day in elementary and middle schools.

Middle schoolers can use phones during lunch, before and after school, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said during a press conference Tuesday. High schoolers will have more leeway, with phone use restricted during the instructional day, with allowances at certain times.

Individual schools will craft specific policies and share them with families, she said.

Carroll County

When the year begins for Carroll County Public Schools after Labor Day, students will follow the district’s device policy set in July 2024. Students can bring cellphones to school, but “they must be silenced and stored during the school day,” the policy says.

The school board is set to review the regulation in 2027.

Howard County

Howard County Public School System’s policy forbids cellphone use for all students during the school day. In June, the school board decided to continue its policy this school year, which begins Monday.

District spokesperson Brian Bassett called the policy the “second-strictest” in the state behind Cecil County’s in June. Since being implemented in March, Bassett said that students are more focused and engaged.

Harford County

Per the Harford County school board’s latest amendment to its device policy, signed in June, elementary students need to have devices deactivated, meaning they are not able to make any notifications, so devices can be off or in “do not disturb” modes, for instance, and kept in their backpacks during the school day.

Middle schoolers need to keep devices deactivated and in their locker during the school day, the policy says. Regulations are similar for high school students, though they only need to keep them deactivated during class time.

All students can use devices on the bus, but phone calls, taking photos or videos and conversation are not permitted. Devices can’t be used to emit sound unless a student is using personal listening equipment like headphones or earbuds.

Sun reporters Bridget Byrne and Kiersten Hacker contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.