In a letter to DC Council this June, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) Tiffany Nichole Johnson (4B06) said that she was relieved her child had a cell phone during classroom hours. After there was a shooting outside of the school, it was the only way Johnson could be sure her daughter was safe. “It took DCPS hours to even acknowledge that the shooting had occurred,” Johnson wrote. “As a parent, we have no choice but to rely on the real-time information provided by our children, regarding their safety.”
On July 1, DC Council passed the Distraction‑Free Learning Amendment Act of 2025. The law–which prohibits cell phones, tablets, personal gaming devices and similar gadgets during the bell‑to‑bell school day across all traditional public and charter schools–is set to take full effect in the 2026–27 academic year. The law was delayed to allow other local education agencies (LEAs) time to create and disseminate policies.
But DC Public Schools (DCPS) will implement a no device policy in all its schools beginning August 25, 2025. The law reflects mounting concerns over the negative impact of screen time on student academic performance, mental health and social interaction. But some families have concerns about technology provided to children in class, about their child’s ability to communicate in the day and like Johnson, about safety communication, if it is left solely to the school…