VHS adopts bell-to-bell cellphone policy

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Vashon High School students will return to school this fall under a stricter cellphone policy, after the Vashon Island School Board voted unanimously Thursday, June 25, to restrict student access to personal devices from the first bell to dismissal.

The move brings the high school closer to the “away for the day” model already in place at McMurray Middle School, where students have been required since September 2024 to turn in phones at the start of the day and retrieve them after the final bell.

The board approved a new student cellphone policy based largely on a sample National Education Association model for limiting personal devices in schools.

Interim Superintendent Jo Moccia had previously suggested the NEA policy as a framework for Vashon’s own bell-to-bell rule. The version passed Thursday closely followed that model, with only minor wording changes before approval.

The policy requires student personal devices — including cellphones, smartphones, headphones, audio earpieces, handheld games, smartwatches and tablets — to be silenced, turned off and stored in a location determined by school administrators during the school day. To view the sample policy, visit tinyurl.com/32bcjscr.

The policy defines the school day as bell-to-bell, including lunch, passing time between classes and recess. Personal devices will remain stored for the duration of the school day, or until students otherwise leave school grounds.

The vote caps months of local debate over whether Vashon High School should move to a full “away for the day” model or continue with a version of its current “off and away” approach, which barred phone use during class but allowed students more access outside instructional time.

That debate intensified this spring after district leaders notified families that two students had placed a phone in a Vashon High School restroom stall and recorded other students without their knowledge or consent. The incident accelerated review of a district cellphone policy that dated to 2011, before smartphones became a near-constant presence in teenage life.

“You make policy, and we’ll figure out how to implement it,” Moccia told the board in June.

Under the policy, school administrators will develop procedures for how devices are stored, how the rule is enforced and what progressive discipline will look like. The policy also requires exceptions for students who need devices as assistive technology under an Individualized Education Plan, 504 plan or other approved plan, as well as for medical or family emergency needs.

Across Washington, school districts are increasingly tightening cellphone rules, though high school policies vary. Seattle Public Schools’ high school procedure keeps phones away during instructional time but allows limited access during lunch and passing periods. Kent School District’s comprehensive high schools require phones to be secured away when students enter classrooms. In Nooksack Valley, high school students may use phones during passing periods but not during class or lunch.

Vashon’s new policy goes further than some of those models by applying to the full school day, including lunch and passing time.

The local vote also comes as Gov. Bob Ferguson has made school cellphone restrictions a statewide legislative priority. Ferguson announced June 9 that he plans to seek a statewide “Away for the Day” policy for K-12 public schools, with a detailed proposal expected by Sept. 15 and implementation targeted for September 2027, if passed.

In other business, the board also adopted the district’s 2026-27 budget, approving a general fund spending plan of about $30.5 million — up from the district’s approved 2025-26 general fund budget of about $29.3 million.

District officials have said expenses are expected to exceed revenues by just over $1 million next year.

The board also approved a transportation policy as the district prepares to reduce general education bus routes from eight to six to save money. District officials said some stops may shift and some routes may be longer, but the district still plans to serve all routes. Exact routes are not expected to be finalized until mid-July, and families will be notified by Aug. 1.

To watch the entire board meeting, visit tinyurl.com/57bsnvze.