The 2025-26 school year is approaching us, and with it, brings a multitude of new changes and policies for the Seahawk family. One of the most prominent rules that may be felt throughout the school year for students and teachers alike is the new ban on electronics, such as cell phones and AirPods. To make things clear, the policy is being implemented by the school district, not by the Cape Coral High School administration.
“[Might have] seen a lot of that stuff in the state policies that are going to employ state law with the cell phone. The district just got ahead; there are six districts now that are doing a total electronic wireless device ban, and we’re one of the six,” says Principal Ryan Jackson. The ban on cell phones won’t just include a restriction during instructional hours; electronics will be banned during the entire school day ( 7 A.M. – 2 P.M.), including passing periods and lunch time.
“We’ve gotten the message out early, and we will talk about it in the class meetings. It’s going to be up to the teachers to enforce in the classrooms. We’re just going to deal with it case by case,” Jackson says. Once school has officially begun and everyone has settled in, students will most likely be pulled into meetings by grade level for administration to outline this new addition to the rules.
“I think no electronics is a great thing as phones and chromebooks are a huge distraction to learning,” says Daniel Gross, AP World History teacher. “Every period for the last few years, I have to get multiple kids off their phones [and] to stop playing video games on their computers. It definitely gets in the way of them focusing on school.” Over the past few years, it has been blatantly obvious that electronics have served as a distraction to the general student population and a blockade in the education system.
This rule will be enforced by most teachers, like Gross and AP US History Teacher Renee Powella. “I’m gonna for sure enforce it, we’re required,” said Powella. “I think it’s a good way to get students more engaged in class and take away distractions that they have with them all the time. Their attention spans are so much less, so I think it’s a good thing.”
Not only do teachers believe that students will be engaged more in lectures, but it’s also believe that they will get the opportunity to socialize more with their peers.
Powella says, “It will help them become more engaged in school and maybe have even more conversations with other kids as opposed to walking in the hallways with their heads down and their headphones on. [They might] actually make more conversation and build relationships with each other better.”
As of right now, the only thing in the foreseeable future that might cause more trouble than usual is the unauthorized use of games on school chromebooks. It’s no surprise that students tend to play video games on their chromebooks when they find a class or a lecture boring. “I will lock them down in my class, but I feel kids always find a way to get around it, and those kids will suffer academically,” Gross states.
Powella agrees with the fact that issues will increase on the chromebooks and offers an alternative solution to the problem. “It might increase with certain students who just want to avoid school. There will probably be more issues on the chromebook unless you force the kids to put their chromebooks away and do more paper-based assignments.”
Students have been spreading around an online petition that is asking to reverse the phone ban and extend lunch periods in Lee County Schools. As of right now, the petition has over 1500 signatures and is said to have notified at least three of the decision makers on the Lee County school board. Despite this petition, Jackson has stated that the district will stand firm as they are supporting a state law.
Besides the rule about no phones, there have been other new changes that are being implemented in the school. This includes the senior agreement. The senior agreement is a contract that seniors are required to sign where they agree to be to school on time. The school is following district policy, where there will be an absence and tardy process, in which seniors can’t go over a certain amount.
“By second semester, you have to have a certain GPA, be ready to graduate current classes, and not way behind,” Jackson says. If certain expectations aren’t met, then seniors will not be allowed to attend or participate in fun senior events and activities such as senior picnic and gradbash.
One other change to the school is breakfast which correlates with new school hours. The district has changed the high school bell schedule to follow 7 A.M. – 2 P.M. Now that students have lost five extra minutes before class, Cape High is no longer giving students the option to eat breakfast in the cafeteria.
This school year, students are to pick up breakfast from the cafeteria and take them to their first period homeroom. All teachers have been given a trash can specifically for foods so that students don’t leave their trash lying around the school.
Another change that will be seen throughout the school are the new renovations that are being done throughout the building. During last school year (2024-25), Cape High’s roof was being worked on. Due to this, many classrooms were disturbed and forced teachers and students to relocate, some of which prevented many lectures from happening.
Over the summer, CCHS has fundraised to get new floors for both the cafeteria and the gym. “[The] cafeteria was part of the last of the hurricane damage a year ago. The gym was just every four years, it gets completely repainted,” Jackson says.
Starting November of 2025, the school will begin renovating the flooring of the whole school. This renovation could last anywhere from five to eight months, according to Jackson. Though, unlike last year’s roof renovation, they will only be working on it on weekends and throughout the night. Classrooms and instructional time will not be disrupted.
