Students and parents are not happy after North Carolina passed new laws banning cell phones and personal computers.
As of the 2025-2026 school year, all cell phones and personal laptops have been banned from Wake County high schools. Multiple parents purchased new laptops such as Macbooks and Thinkpads for their students with the intent that they would use them in school to improve their learning ability.
Senior, Connor Ja said, “My parents bought me a whole laptop to ditch the Chromebooks, but now I can’t use it anymore. So it’s pretty devastating and the Chromebook is really slow because they’re all the way from 6th grade.”
Many students have reported that the school issued Chromebooks are outdated and slow compared to their own personal laptops. Within the first week of school, Principal Mrs. Summers announced that all freshmen school issued Chromebooks were faulty and did not work as intended. This was a countywide problem that could have been minimized if students were allowed their own computers. The issue was resolved but a couple days of learning was lost due to faulty computers
The first-ever districtwide policy on student use of Personal Wireless Communication Devices (PWD’s), was approved on June 3-4, 2025 and first took effect in August for the 2025-2026 school year. This includes cellphones, personal computers, smartwatches, smart glasses, wireless headphones, wireless earbuds, wired earbuds, pagers, any two-way radios, and gaming devices. In all Wake County schools, phones must be silenced and put away but students must have them out of sight and not easily accessible. This means that you cannot have your phone in your pocket and it must be in a backpack or a locker. They are not permitted to be used during instructional time between morning and afternoon bells.
For elementary and middle school, phones must be put away all day in between bells and in high school, they are allowed to be used in-between classes while transitioning, lunch, and during extracurricular activities such as sports, band, and performing arts. Violations of rules can result in confiscation of equipment and if the problem becomes recurring, students may face disciplinary actions decided by school administration.
These new county-wide laws on personal devices have left some parents angry despite school officials trying to reassure parents that it is intended to improve focus within learning environments. Concerns still rise about outdated Chromebooks and efficiency within the classroom. Everyone is wondering if adjustments will be made within the rules or will this be the new way of learning in Wake County?
