New Phone Rules for 2026-27: Hopkins Unplugged

The resulting policy, which Glendinning outlined in his letter, states: "From 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in all areas of campus, cell phones must be turned off or silenced and stored entirely out of sight; Phones may be accessed and used only when explicitly permitted by a teacher for a specific academic activity; Accessories like smartwatches may be worn but must not be accompanied by active phone use; Students who require a device for medical reasons will be fully accommodated. Families should contact their head adviser to initiate dialogue about  accommodation."

Glendinning wrote that the goal of the new policy is to “encourage greater, meaningful interpersonal connection, and to disconnect students from the ever-present pressure and distraction of social media.”

Last year, Glendinning said, “there was a community expectation that students would not use their phones during class time or for non-academic purposes.” Head advisers discussed the idea of a new policy in response to what Glendinning described as “continuously seeing students on their phones.” According to Glendinning, Dean of Students Lars Jorgensen “then took the head advisers’ comments and concerns to the Administrative Board.”

In a spring survey sent to the Hopkins community, Glendinning said, “a significant majority of parents and teachers” responding expressed “a strong desire for a stricter approach.” Though “most students disagreed,” Glendinning wrote, “many acknowledged their overreliance on phones, noting the impact on attention and sleep.”

Although the new policy is meant to limit distractions from screens, some students questioned its potential effectiveness. Lina Elwood ’28 noted that “people who want to work around it will work around it. We all have laptops or other means of accessing social media, gaming or any of the things they want to avoid.” Glendinning explained that the goal of the policy is to “improve student well-being” rather than eliminating technology use.