MADISON COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – The Madison County School District announced changes to the student electronics policy for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.
According to the new policy, all students will be prohibited from using headphones and earbuds during school hours. There will be limited cellphone use for middle and high school students.
Officials with the school district said high school students will be asked to refrain from using any personal electronic devices during instructional class time. The policy for middle school students has also been updated to prohibit the use of personal electronic devices from the first bell to the last bell of the school day.
The use of personal earbuds, headphones, or any other listening devices will be prohibited at all times during the school day. Classes needing the use of headphones will provide them to the students.
“The statistics are staggering when we take a hard look at the direct correlation between increased screen time and increased mental health issues,” said Ted Poore, Superintendent of Madison County Schools. “We are implementing these revisions to make sure that, as a school district, we are not contributing to the amount of screen time that our students already experience.”
District officials said that timely parent-student communication will always be allowed.
“Parents, you can always contact your student by calling the school office and requesting that a message be sent to them, or in the case of an emergency, get them to the phone immediately,” stated Poore. “In addition, students – if you need to contact your parents, simply ask your teacher or administrator for permission to go to the office to call them.”
The revised policy can be found on page 41 of the 2025-2026 Student Handbook.