- Connecticut is proposing a legal ban on cell phone use during the school day
- If passed, this law will see the state join 35 others in having cell phone restriction laws at school
- Studies and surveys largely seem to show cell phone bans as having a positive impact, but parents and lawmakers are mixed on it
Connecticut could be about to join a long list of US states that are either restricting or outright banning cell phone use in schools.
As reported by the CT Insider (via The Sun), lawmakers there have pushed through a bill that would require students to have their phones switched off and put away from the first bell until the last, with schools being able to decide whether the phones would be stored in backpacks, lockers, or locked pouches during that period.
The bill still needs to pass before it will be signed into law, but with 35 other states already having some kind of legal cell phone restriction in schools, it seems fairly likely that this will get the backing it needs.
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This also follows the recent news that England is planning to ban phones in schools by law, as reported by the BBC. So this isn’t just a shift in US attitudes — it’s more global.
That said, it’s worth noting that the majority of schools in both the US and the UK already have restrictions in place; they’re just done on a school-by-school or regional basis, rather than being an actual law — and in many cases they’re not full bans.
So, how much will change in practice remains to be seen, but it’s likely that these laws will make the bans more complete and perhaps easier to enforce.
Surveys and studies suggest it's the right choice
The big question is how much difference that will make to the school experience, but while there’s some debate over whether it would be a positive or negative change, most data suggests it should improve things.
For example, a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of 79 district leaders, 122 school leaders, and 395 teachers found that 69% reported cell phone restrictions had a positive impact on behavior in the classroom, 70% found it had a positive impact on engagement in learning, 64% on overall wellbeing, 63% on learning and mastering content and skills, and 63% on social-emotional skills development.
The only area where most respondents said it had no real impact was attendance, which makes sense.
Plus, a report from the Paragon Health Institute cites several other studies that also show the positive impacts of banning cell phone use in schools, including that the change was associated with a 6.4% increase in national exam scores in the UK.
It's not all upsides
There are, however, some potential downsides too. The same report highlights things like safety and emergency communication concerns, losing easy day-to-day parent-child communication, costs involved in enforcing bans, such as by purchasing expensive pouches to lock phones in, and concerns about the stress and ‘separation anxiety’ that being parted from their phones could cause students.
Plus, some teachers report integrating cell phone use into lessons, with, for example, them being used for research or collaborative projects, especially when school internet connections are slow or when a school’s firewall blocks educational websites and tools.
The Sun’s report on the plans in Connecticut also suggests parents and government officials there are split, with some supporting the proposed ban and others pointing out potential issues.
For example, Rep. Christie Carpino, a Cromwell Republican, argued that a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t ideal, saying “our 5-year-olds should be treated a lot differently than our 18-year-old students,” while Republican Rep. Lezlye Zupkus noted that “we tell kids to do as I say, not as I do. That’s basically what this is doing. Teachers and administrators can walk around with their cell phones, but students can’t. This is not good role modeling at all in our schools.”
So, it’s a complicated, nuanced issue, but it seems that both the US and some other countries are moving ever closer to blanket cell phone bans in schools, so whether good or bad, it’s a change that’s probably coming.
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