Tag: New Tampa

A new state law in use for the first time for the 2025-26 school year says students can’t use cell phones or any wireless devices during the school day. And so far, it looks like school administrators, teachers, parents and maybe even students in the Wesley Chapel area are glad for the change. 

“I don’t want to jinx myself,” says Cypress Creek Middle School principal Tim Light, “but I haven’t gotten any pushback.” 

He says students have been respectful, and it’s nice to see that they don’t have earbuds in as they’re walking around school. Teachers don’t mind that they have to use school technology, such as laptop computers, rather than students using their own phones for technology-based learning. 

Next door at Cypress Creek High, principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles agrees that not having the students wearing headphones is positive for campus culture. “They’re talking to each other and talking to us adults,” Hetzler-Nettles says. “It makes them more communicative.” 

Where students may have been in their own headspaces listening to music before, she explains that now they are smiling and saying “Good morning” in a friendly way. 

At the high school level, students are allowed to use their phones during lunch, which Hetzler-Nettles says comes toward the end of the day, and she feels is a fair use of personal devices. 

Other than at lunch time, high school students have to have their phones off or in airplane mode from the time they arrive on campus until dismissal, including passing periods. 

“Parents want their kids to come here and learn,” she says, “and not have all the distractions. We’re all on the same page.” 

Kelly Grills is a parent who agrees. A former Pasco County elementary teacher, she says she loved it when the Pasco School District started adding restrictions on the phones a few years ago. 

“It’s a huge win for teachers,” she says. “There were so many distractions and issues with [students on their] phones.” 

Grills’ three children now attend middle and high school. 

“My own children carry them in their backpacks,” she says, explaining that she uses a tracking app, especially for her youngest, who rides his bike to and from school. 

Light agrees the distractions have been limited by the policies the District has enacted over the years. 

“Years ago, the majority of our discipline was [dealing with] students on phones,” he says. 

But now, he explains, there are no students texting each other in a way that causes problems or pulling out phones to shoot video when fights break out. 

Even with the stricter rules on kindergarten through eighth grade campuses, where phones aren’t allowed at all — even during lunch — Light thinks the new policy is working well. 

“They are able to focus on school and personal, face-to-face relationships,” he says. “Overall student discipline and how students are carrying themselves conduct-wise has changed dramatically for the positive.” 

New Tampa Schools Are Adjusting To The New Electronics Law 

A new Florida law this school year says students can’t use cell phones or any wireless device during the school day, and so far, school administrators say the change has been welcome. 

In many cases, especially at the high school level, it doesn’t look much different than last year, when district policy said phones couldn’t be used during school except if allowed by teachers for instructional purposes. 

“We really didn’t need to change much,” says Freedom High principal Kevin Stephenson. “The law just gave us teeth to enforce the rules.” 

Communication has been key, with both the district and individual schools providing information about the new policies that align with the law, which went into effect July 1. All devices must be powered off or in airplane mode throughout the school day. For elementary and middle school, that starts when students arrive on campus and lasts until they leave campus at the end of the day. High school administrators have discretion to allow phones at lunch and during passing periods, and teachers may authorize the use of personal devices for instructional purposes. 

Students, parents, and administrators admit that enforcement may vary from classroom to classroom, depending on how teachers are enforcing the rules. 

“I know it is still a struggle for some students in very few classrooms,” says Eva Chen, assistant principal at Freedom, “but when I called home, the parents were very supportive and aware of the policies in place.” 

Sigrun Ragnarsdottir is a New Tampa mom who also teaches middle school robotics at Pierce Middle School, near W. Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa. 

She says it takes some instructional time away, as students have to get laptops out of the laptop cart, power them up, then shut down and put them away before the bell at the end of class. That sometimes leaves a few minutes at the end of class if she’s overestimated how long that process will take. 

“It does require more work for me to teach bell to bell,” she says. 

But, she adds, “There’s an upside to it. Students aren’t distracted on their phone or trying to find ways to hide the phone anymore.” 

LaMarr Buggs, principal of Turner/Bartels K-8 School says, “It’s working for us. Parents are supporting us and it’s being looked at as positive.” 

He agrees that the biggest difference is that his students can no longer use electronic devices for instructional purposes. Instead, middle school students at Turner/Bartels start their day by getting a laptop from their homeroom teacher, use it throughout the day for all of their classroom needs, then return it at the end of the day. 

He recognizes that parents want their students to have phones, and the law – and school administrators – allow phones to be carried by students, as long as they are put away out of sight in a backpack or purse. 

In case of an emergency, those phones are close at hand. 

On the day we spoke with him, Turner/ Bartels had been on lockdown for several minutes after a teacher inadvertently pressed a button to trigger the emergency procedures. 

“I’m guessing kids were contacting their parents via text during lockdown,” says Buggs, “and that’s okay.” 

In fact, he tells students that if they see something dangerous on campus, such as a classmate who brings a weapon, they can use their phones to anonymously report it using the Fortify Florida app provided through the school district. 

Of course, they can also report directly to a teacher or administrator, but if they need to use their phone for an emergency, their safety is a priority. And, he says, teachers and administrators are happy for the change. 

“They see the difference,” he says. Instead of a school full of kids who have their heads down looking at their devices, “Now, the kid who’s on his phone looks like the odd man out.”