In a memo to families Monday with various back-to-school reminders, Harwood Union Middle/High School co-principals Laurie Greenberg and Megan McDonough said bags ordered by the district for students to use to keep their phones during the school day have not yet arrived.

The school district purchases special cases for students to store phones, Bluetooth headphones and any watches that are connected to the internet. Upon entering school until the end of class, students must place their devices in the case, which is closed with a magnetic clasp. Students in grades 9 through 12 must store the cases in their backpacks or lockers for the day; students in grades 7 and 8 are only allowed to place them in their lockers.

“The manufacturers of Yondr have informed us that the delivery of our pouches is delayed,” the school leaders wrote. “The good news is that this gives us as a community the opportunity to practice and focus on the routine of putting our phones away before learning how to use the magnets.”

Schools in the Harwood district will begin classes on Tuesday, August 27. At Harwood Middle/High School, seventh and ninth graders will be in attendance on the first day as a normal transition. The entire student body in grades 7-12 will be in attendance beginning Wednesday, August 28.

School leaders and staff have presented the new device-based routine as a way to encourage greater engagement, learning and socializing among students during the school day. They backed up their presentations with research showing that cellphone use is widespread in schools and negatively impacts student well-being.

Instead of the Yondr bags, students will receive a manila envelope with their name on it to use until the bags arrive, principals explained. “The same expectations and procedures apply, with the exception of using magnets to lock and unlock our bags,” principals said.

Students who do not have a phone or leave their phone at home can opt out of this routine by having their parents fill out a short form.

The memo also stresses that the same expectations and consequences regarding phones apply when the envelopes are used instead of the Yondr bags, which are listed in the Harwood handbook and were published in an Aug. 9 family newsletter. A July 25 memo explains the reasoning behind the new policy, with details in frequently asked questions format.

The school district has allocated the final $22,000 of the state’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to purchase nearly 670 of California-based Yondr’s locking cell phone cases. The cases are used in schools and venues to restrict access to cell phones. The supply would allow each of the school’s roughly 580 students to receive a case and have additional ones for backups. The cost also includes the magnetic lock/unlock stations.

School officials did not respond Monday afternoon to a request for comment about when the cases are expected to be delivered. The Harwood School Board’s regular meeting after summer break begins this Wednesday at 6 p.m. Final approval of funds for the cell phone cases is on the board’s meeting agenda.

You can read an earlier report on the new mobile phone regulation here.