12.9.24 – Austin American-Statesman
“Texas Lawmakers Discuss Restricting Students' Digital Spaces”
By Keri Heath
Excerpt from this article:
[COMMENTS BY DONNA GARNER – A highly experienced and current classroom teacher told me that this year her high school has a “no cellphone during class” policy (with serious and consistent consequences for any offenders).
She said the entire atmosphere of her classroom has changed.
During the COVID years and since then, students have forgotten how to talk directly to each other.
It was common for Student A who was sitting right next to Student B to text rather than to speak directly to one another.
Now with “no cellphones in class,” students are more focused on the academic goals for the day rather than having their attention distracted by whatever the latest gossip is on their cellphones.
My teacher friend said that another important benefit is that the students are now talking directly to each other, sharing their ideas verbally, working effectively in group activities, giving better oral reports, and asking more questions.
They are learning once again to share their lives directly and verbally with one another; they are experiencing normal conversations and feedback.
Talking with one another directly is bound to lessen students’ inner tensions and to create an atmosphere of community with one another.
Mental and emotional health have grown increasingly worse since those COVID years with suicide rates and violence soaring during the same time period in which techie devices have taken over students’ lives. That cannot be a coincidence.
I commend Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath for the strong stand he is taking on banning cellphones in schools, and I appreciate the fact that “he practices what he preaches.” As a committed and caring parent, he does not allow his own children to have cellphones.]
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12.9.24 – Austin American-Statesman
Texas policymakers are thinking increasingly about children’s use of digital tools and presence on social media, a topic that’s likely to become a point of conversation in the upcoming legislative session this spring.
During a meeting of the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs last month, senators expressed concern about potentially harmful content children could encounter online.
During a September hearing of the Texas Senate Education Committee, state Education Commissioner Mike Morath told senators the use of cellphones could be a contributing factor in the increase in mental health issues many students are experiencing.
“I can tell you my kids don’t have cellphones in my house,” Morath said.
A bill [ House Bill 186 ] state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, would significantly restrict a child’s ability to have a social media account.
The bill comes as schools across Texas are grappling with how to handle the increasing presence in the classroom of devices such as cellphones, which teachers say cause distractions and some experts worry could create mental health issues.
The conversations are coalescing at a time when lawmakers and educators are increasingly discussing the safest and most responsible ways for students to interact with technology in digital spaces, particularly at school.
Patterson’s House Bill 186 would restrict social media companies from opening accounts for minors, require age verification for new members and give parents the ability to remove their child’s account from a social media platform.
“Heavily addictive social media platforms are destroying the lives of children in Texas,” Patterson said in a statement. “Record increases in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide have coincided with the rapid rise in social media use by minors.”
More and more, child sexual abuse cases have some sort of technology component, whether the abuse occurs online or offline, said Christina Green, chief advancement and external relations officer for the Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas.
It's essential that parents, children, and school personnel get education about online risk…
…Patterson's bill comes as a national conversation unfolds about the role of technology during the school day….
Several school districts across Texas have enacted cellphone bans in the past year.
In the Lake Travis district, elementary and middle school students must keep their phones turned off during the school day.
Officials expect to have a conversation about phones in the high school for next school year.
Lots of research backs up the idea that cellphones cause distractions in classrooms, said Sarah Woulfin, a professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas.
“It's becoming clearer and clearer that teacher after teacher are saying it's an impossibility to teach when there are cellphones in the classroom and kids are on their phones,” Woulfin said.
Scattered policies across different schools and within a single school move the burden of enforcement to a teacher, who should be focused on educating, she said.
Technology in the classroom can be one of those issues on which interests converge between people who want to prevent distraction and people who are interested in preventing cyberbullying or access to harmful content, Woulfin said.