{"id":356412,"date":"2026-05-14T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/?p=356412"},"modified":"2026-04-19T21:19:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:19:02","slug":"georgia-public-schools-announce-the-new-phone-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/2026\/05\/14\/georgia-public-schools-announce-the-new-phone-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Public Schools Announce the New Phone Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Starting the 2027-2028 school year, the Georgia Senate passed a law banning the use of phones for public high schools. The vote was 52-0, showing a unanimous agreement within the government to restrict phone usage. Originally, the law was planned to be solely for kindergarten through 8th grade, and this will take place starting from July 1, 2026. However, it was recently extended through 12th grade. Although private schools, such as Pace, will not be required to participate in this phone ban, all public high schools located in Georgia will need to abide by it. The law was named the House Bill 1009, which follows the \u201cbell-to-bell\u201d policy, meaning that students will not be able to access their phones from the first bell all the way to dismissal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many make the case that phones cause a distraction to learning, even when they are stored away in backpacks. So, the main purpose for this banning was to ensure that students remain focused throughout the school day. This way, the government believes that test scores, participation and understanding of the material being taught can increase. 11 Alive writes how \u201c\u2018Distraction-free education\u2019 means a learning environment where student access to personal electronic devices is prohibited to minimize distractions, improve academic outcomes, and increase meaningful interactions and focused learning experiences.” The law was also passed in an attempt to better students\u2019 social lives, so that instead of looking or scrolling on their phones, they can talk to one another and create closer relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The passing of the law was encouraged by many teachers, parents and Georgia educators, with a 90% support rate. Even so, the bill has been a controversial and debated topic, with students\u2019 safety coming into consideration. In case of an emergency, what will students do without their phones to contact their parents or call for help? These are questions that have circulated online and within families that are in opposition of the law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Pace students are glad that the law will not affect them within the next few years. \u201cI am grateful that I have my phone because I can communicate with my friends and teachers better,\u201d said sophomore Campbell Smith. This highlights how students are grateful for the environment that they learn and live in. Still, the passing of the House Bill 1009 will drastically change many schools\u2019 atmospheres and shows a shift in the direction that education is going in the future. Now, the bill will be sent to Governor Brian Kemp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A photo displays the new phone banning policy that has been implemented throughout the state of Georgia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Credit: BBC<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Starting the 2027-2028 school year, the Georgia Senate passed a law banning the use of phones for public high schools. The vote was 52-0, showing a unanimous agreement within the government to restrict phone usage. Originally, the law was planned to be solely for kindergarten through 8th grade, and thisContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":517,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-ashley-hua28paceacademy-org","post-356412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-pacenews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1TYqQ-1uIA","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/517"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356412"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356453,"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356412\/revisions\/356453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knightlife.paceacademy.org\/knightlynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}