Picayune Memorial High School recently changed their cellphone policy, allowing students to use their devices on campus during the upcoming school year.

Kent Kirkland, the high school’s principal, said students can use their cellphones before and after school, during breaks, in the hallways and during lunch. The new policy is a major change from the previous one, which banned cellphone use on campus.

“We’re living in a technology age. I think our kids are mature enough to handle it and if it doesn’t work we can always change it back. We’re not the first school to do this, there are other schools in the state allowing cellphones,” Kirkland said.

Over the years, teachers at the high school have allowed students to use their cellphones in the classroom for educational reasons, which contradicted with the school’s former policy, Kirkland said.

“We designed the new policy to be a little more consistent and put it back in our teachers hands,” Kirkland said.

The teachers will ultimately decide whether or not they want to integrate cellphones into their curriculum.

Another reason the new policy was adopted was to keep students in school. If students were caught using their cellphones during instructional time, their phones were taken away for 15 days. If students refused to turn in their cellphones, they were suspended from school for several days. The new policy is more lenient, Kirkland said. If a student is caught using their cellphone during instructional time without the teacher’s approval, the device will be taken away and their parents will be able to retrieve it after school.

While students are allowed to use their cellphones on campus, headphones are still banned for safety reasons. Also, all cellphones must remain on silent during the school day, Kirkland said.

“My understanding is the high school is being more liberal with their cellphone policy and I agree. Cellphones are part of the world we live in,” said Brent Harrell, assistant superintendent for Picayune’s school district.

Students can expect to see another change this upcoming year. Kirkland said the school will allow each student to get five free checkouts during the year. After the fifth checkout, it will count against them, unless they can provide a doctor’s note or court papers.

Classes resume Thursday, Aug. 6, Kirkland said.