Nearly 300 wireless devices taken from Martin County students

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly 300 wireless devices were confiscated from students in Martin County during the first week of school under an aggressive new policy from the school district.

According to data provided to WPTV by the Martin County School District, 279 wireless devices were taken from students. These include cellphones, smartwatches and earbuds.

The most devices were confiscated at Martin County High School with 113, followed by South Fork High School with 101 and Jensen Beach High School with 48.

Additionally, five devices were seized at David L. Anderson Middle School, four at Stuart Middle School, four at Spectrum Academy, two at Willoughby Learning Center and one each at Indiantown Middle School and Hidden Oaks Middle School.

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Last year, a law went into effect in Florida banning students from keeping their phones during classes.

However, not every local school district approaches technology the same way.

Martin County School District is the most aggressive with new consequences related to cell phones and wireless devices. If you have a wireless device with you at any point during the school day — including in class, hallways or at lunch — it will be confiscated and returned only to your parent or guardian.

Superintendent Michael Maine said if a phone is lost, a teacher or school staff member will bring it to the office where it will be documented and locked away.

Repeated violations in Martin County will result in progressive discipline and even suspension. The new policy also addresses AirPods and smartwatch use.

“Do you think this will work?” WPTV education reporter Stephanie Susskind asked in Maine before the start of the school year.

“I think if we are consistent as a district and every school is consistent throughout, we will be successful,” Maine said. “But it won’t just take us as a school district. I need the help of parents.”

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Maine added that cellphones increase incidents of online bullying and harassment and “creep into all sorts of inappropriate things that our students are doing.”

“We need to get this under control. And this is a step toward mitigating it,” Maine said.

As for our remaining local school districts, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties have stated that they will maintain their current policies in compliance with state law, which prohibits the use of cell phones during class unless permitted by a teacher.

Indian River County School District officials said they have focused on law enforcement over the past year.

“We were able to dramatically increase the amount of time our teachers could provide high-quality instruction because they weren’t cell phone cops,” said Superintendent Dr. David Moore. “So part of our success last year is in the fight against cell phones.”

In Martin County, Maine, all school principals have been trained to implement this new policy for their staff.