Harford County students went back to school Tuesday with a new cellphone policy and staffing changes in the classroom.

The district now bars students in all grade levels from having a cellphone in the classroom during instructional time. The device policy, which was amended June 9, mandates that all students deactivate and store their devices in backpacks or their lockers during the school day.

Wearable communication devices like smartwatches can be worn by students in the classroom, but must be turned off.

All students can possess and use devices on school grounds before or after school and on school buses when authorized to do so, provided the student does not use the device for conversation, calls, photographing, video or audio recording.

Students using devices in any manner that violates school rules will be subject to disciplinary action.

Outside of the device policy changes, Harford Schools’ staff was reduced by 120 positions following a $60 million budget deficit the school system faced in this year’s budget. None of the 120 positions were cut through firings or layoffs, as school officials said all the reductions were achieved through attrition.

The cuts led to a reorganization of the school system since vacated positions were not being filled due to the budget constraints. The reorganization required some educators and staff members to be moved to different schools, grade levels and subjects.

Despite the changes, Harford Schools Manager of Communications Jillian Lader said the school system is expected to start the 2025-2026 year with no teacher vacancies.

Students could see virtual instruction days in place of inclement weather closures if the Harford County Board of Education votes Sept. 22 to pass a virtual learning plan.

The proposal states that after the school system has used three in-person makeup days, the remaining three inclement weather closure makeup days would be conducted via online learning. According to the proposal, at least four hours of the virtual learning days would be synchronous — with live, real-time instruction from a teacher via Microsoft Teams.

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