Time for new National policies on cell phone usage?

[FireStone]

Our council summer camp is notoriously strict about cell phones in camp. Scouts are forbidden from having them at all, any scouts who bring one to camp are supposed to have it confiscated by their troop leaders, and camp staff confiscate phones if they see scouts with them around camp. 

Adults are strongly discouraged from having phones in view of scouts. So much so that even taking pictures is frowned upon. 

Even smart watches (like the Apple watch) are prohibited for scouts and strongly discouraged for adults. 

Meanwhile, at Jambo phones are pretty much a necessity. Phones are actually encouraged there, plus there's an event app, and a lot of the activities utilize connected technology as part of the experience (scanning QR codes, pulling up information), as well as for taking pictures, accessing schedules and event info, and of course communicating both at the event with your troop and contacting parents back home. 

As more and more scouting materials go digital (like merit badge pamphlets), this all seems to frequently beg the question: 

Is it time for National to set new guidelines for cell phone usage that puts the decision entirely with the troop? 

Similar to how we have received better uniform and clothing guidelines from National, I think it's time we got some more clear and up-to-date guidance on phone policies and technology usage in general throughout the organization. Along with empowering troops who want to ease off the restrictive policies to do so at their own discretion, without camps being able to impose blanket bans and harsh restrictions for youth and adults. 

Even in troops that want to maintain a limit on phone usage, I think we could at least be a little more nuanced about how phone policies are applied. Blanket bans seem to miss an opportunity to encourage appropriate and helpful use of technology in scouting environments. And when those bans even apply to the adults, I think it's a significant overstep. 

It also seems ironic to me that we're rolling out MBs like AI and cybersecurity while at the same time telling scouts they can't even have a phone on a trip at all. 

Edited Friday at 05:53 PM by FireStone

[Tron]

I love where you want to go with this; trust me I do. My troop finally enacted a cell phone policy. I am no longer the A-hole dad telling his scouts to put the phones away or they get locked in the car while everyone else does wtf they want; however, I am not sure if this is a national level issue for a couple of reasons.

If national were to introduce a new policy, how would they enforce it? As an example, the new safeguarding youth (not the name, but the whole new process) program is mandated from the bankruptcy and settlement and national is absolutely impotent in the means of enforcing it at the council level let alone unit level. This is a legally enforceable mandate where everyone with a functioning brain agrees it is important and it still can't get enforced. 

We know that the entire country is a patchwork of (at sometimes) weird laws and judicial rulings. Does national want to weigh in and get forced to navigate all the various laws? For example in my state it is illegal for schools and other organizations to take cell phones away from youth who have medical conditions, educational need, or if they have an IEP at their school of enrollment that states they should have access to a cellular device due to their condition(s). The only reason why my troop has a cell phone policy is because the COR basically came in and said, agree to it or your family hits the bricks. 

[qwazse]

Rule #1: Don’t ask for a rule, you’ll live to regret it.

That said, guidelines for teaching phone courtesy would be helpful.

Even navigating to online MB pamphlets and requirements (which aren’t on the same page) is a unique challenge.

[DuctTape]

I have bigger issues with adults and phones.

[FireStone]

13 hours ago, qwazse said:

Even navigating to online MB pamphlets and requirements (which aren’t on the same page) is a unique challenge.

I just discovered this and how different they can be. Try looking up the checklists for recommended items for a personal first aid kit for First Aid merit badge. The links in the requirements vs. the pamphlet info are wildly different. 

[FireStone]

On 7/13/2026 at 10:06 AM, Tron said:

If national were to introduce a new policy, how would they enforce it? 

I see it being handled similar to the uniform policy updates, where national grants discretion to the troops to decide their own policies, and removes the ability for anyone outside the troop to override that policy except in instances of safety concerns. 

This gives troops the ability to act not just in their own interests and preferences but also apply any specific state legal considerations to their own policies (see below). 

 

On 7/13/2026 at 10:06 AM, Tron said:

Does national want to weigh in and get forced to navigate all the various laws? For example in my state it is illegal for schools and other organizations to take cell phones away from youth who have medical conditions, educational need, or if they have an IEP at their school of enrollment that states they should have access to a cellular device due to their condition(s). 

Even in states where it is technically legal for teachers to confiscate cell phones, in practice there are really no true protections for teachers who do so. Parents can (and do) bring lawsuits over phone confiscations regardless. My wife (a middle school teacher) is going through this right now. That's why I refuse to abide by any camp policy that says I'm supposed to take phones from scouts. Not even having to navigate the issues of medical necessity, I just don't want the responsibility or liability that comes from taking and holding a kid's $1,000 phone that contains all kinds of personal information. 

Now for national's point of view, I get why they might not want to set policy in this regard, if they have to navigate various laws that are different in each state. And maybe in this particular case, talking about confiscating phones, it might make the most sense for national to simply say we should not be doing it. Which of course I know is not going to sit well with a lot of units who want that kind of control. But legally (and note that I am not a lawyer), I just feel like it's a lawsuit waiting to happen, especially when we can already see it happening in schools. And national can protect themselves (and us) by saying that phone confiscation should just not be happening. 

[Double Eagle]

I've dealt with this quite a bit.  Gotta say I've been in scouting since the old green uniform without collars.  So, I've seen a gambit in changes.  I'm pro-phone in any scouting atmosphere.  I see it our duty to teach them when and how it is a complement and not a crutch.  I've been in countless board meetings where someone's phone went off.  And these are executive boards.  So, let's not crucify scouts for using a technology that they have grown up with.  I call them cyber-natives and they could use a tablet before writing complete sentences.  Some of us are cyber-immigrants where we had to learn the language, didn't grow up using them, and may still need the scouts to help us navigate an app.

Here is my side on the legality of phones.  I don't want to be financially responsible for any scouts' phones.  I also don't want access or accused of viewing or "going thru" any scouts' phones.  What they have on their phones is their family's business.  I can't imagine explaining to a parent why I had possession of a phone and it was returned damaged or in a different state than when I took it.  No thanks!  

Last one...I don't know many adults that would be good with a no-phone policy placed on them.  Heck, they are most often the ones that cannot scout without it.  Just like tot'in chip violations, it is usually the adults not following the same rules we place on scouts.

[FireStone]

5 minutes ago, Double Eagle said:

I don't want to be financially responsible for any scouts' phones.  I also don't want access or accused of viewing or "going thru" any scouts' phones.  What they have on their phones is their family's business.  I can't imagine explaining to a parent why I had possession of a phone and it was returned damaged or in a different state than when I took it.  No thanks!  

That's my biggest thing, too. I'm honestly shocked that the camp we're attending wants me to collect phones and keep them all in a box in my tent. There's no way I'm doing that. 

5 minutes ago, Double Eagle said:

I don't know many adults that would be good with a no-phone policy placed on them.  Heck, they are most often the ones that cannot scout without it.  Just like tot'in chip violations, it is usually the adults not following the same rules we place on scouts.

My general troop policy has been not to make rules about phones unless/until I have to. And if the scouts use them appropriately and at the appropriate times, I won't have to make a rule. We're supposed to be a scout-led program and I'm letting the scouts lead on this matter, too. The older scouts model the example and the younger ones seem to follow it. 

I just wish we had the policy backing from national to do this everywhere, and not let camps override it. 

Adults, on the other hand... yep, they're often the ones who can't seem to model good behavior.