3.25.25
“TX Lege – Possible Banning of Students' Cellphones in Schools”
From Donna Garner
9.18.24 -- “Texas Education Commissioner Morath Calls for Student Cellphone Ban in Schools” – by Jaden Edison – Texas Tribune -- https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/18/texas-school-cell-phone-ban/?utm_source=Texas+Tribune+Newsletters&utm_campaign=ad1b3db23a-trib-newsletters-thebrief&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-ad1b3db23a-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=ad1b3db23a&mc_eid=0a4ed7a887
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath on Wednesday [9.18.24] said next year lawmakers should ban the use of cellphones in public schools across the state…
“If it were in my power, I would have already banned them in all schools in the state,” Morath said.
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3.24.25 -- “Will HB 1481 Finally Get Cellphones Banned in TX Classrooms?” – by Dallas Morning News Editorial
Excerpts from this article:
Here’s an experience most adults are familiar with: You’re focused on a task or a conversation when the phone in your pocket buzzes. Snap! Your focus is broken, and even if you choose to ignore the noise, that momentary lapse throws you off.
If that’s all it takes to distract an adult, how can we expect kids to be focused on learning when they have the same devices with them all the time?
House Bill 1481, filed by 26-year-old Rep. Caroline Fairly, R-Amarillo, would require Texas public school districts and charter schools to adopt policies that prevent the use of “personal wireless communication devices during instructional time.”
Cellphones and other internet-enabled devices that aren’t provided by the school for instructional purposes would be covered under the bill.
Each district would have to ensure that classrooms have a secure, out-of-sight area for storing devices during class time.
…There’s no question that the unhealthy relationship most students have with their devices leads to class disruptions and lost focus.
…Even now, most districts don’t allow students to use phones in class.
But enforcing such policies is a problem.
The teachers who try spend too much time getting students to put them away.
The more lax ones get a reputation for being “cool” even though the distractions mean students get less out of that class.
Either way, that’s lost time students should spend learning.
At campuses like those in Richardson ISD that have gone phone-free, the benefits have been clear.
More person-to-person interactions, increased instruction time, less cyberbullying, fewer discipline instances and in some cases, even better teacher retention.
One note of caution is that lawmakers should help schools meet the requirements under this proposal.
We assume that creating a “secure, out-of-sight area” in every classroom will cost some amount of money.
And if legislators plan to start funneling money into private schools, it should think about how this proposed statewide policy would apply to those schools.
House Bill 1481 is a good starting point.
It gives schools the cover they need to enforce cellphone bans and allows them to tailor policies to their needs...
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2.17.25 – “TX HB 515 Would Ban Cellphones in Schools” – by Keri Heath – Austin American-Statesman
Excerpts from this article:
Texas House Bill 515 by Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Marble Falls, would require Texas school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting students from using their personal electronic devices during the day and have them place their cellphones in a lockable container or specified location…
The bill would require schools to make a district-provided phone accessible to students during the day to contact parents if needed, and it would allow students who need to use a personal device because of a medical condition to have access to their personal phone if they provide a doctor's note.
A parent who needs to reach their child during the day can call their school's front office, Troxclair said, adding that for parents who are concerned about not being able to communicate with their children during emergencies, her recommendation would be to have students listen to teachers and law enforcement officers during such incidents, she said.
“In the case of an emergency, you want kids listening to instructions,” Troxclair said. “We've seen situations in the past where we've seen those things hampered by kids being on their phones.”
…Multiple Texas school districts have already taken up similar bans on their own.
Eight states have bans or restrictions on cellphone use in schools either in effect or slated to go into effect within the next 18 months, including California, Florida, Indiana and Virginia, according to KFF.
Another eight states issued guidance or policy recommendations from state-level education departments recommending or piloting programs with the goal of restricting cellphone use, KFF reported…
Fourteen other states have introduced similar legislation to Troxclair’s HB 515, according to KFF’s analysis.
LINKS TO BOTH HB 515 AND HB 1481
TX House Bill 515 – author: Troxclair -- https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB515
TX House Bill 1481 – authors: Fairly | Patterson | Talarico | Buckley -- https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB1481