Cellphone bans in classrooms reduce distractions, but cause some parents safety concerns

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — In a day and age where technology and social media seem to be integrated into every part of our lives, some school districts are trying to create a barrier between students and cellphones. According to CBS News, 95% of students own a phone, getting on average up to 500 notifications a day.

Alabama has about two dozen districts following cellphone bans with more planning to implement them soon, according to State Superintendent Eric Mackey.

“I’ve looked at the pros and cons, I think that there’s a lot more benefit in getting cellphones out of our classrooms than keeping them,” Mackey said.

Mackey says some Alabama schools saw disciplinary referrals drop 85% in just one year after banning phones.

“When students have that 24 hours a day, and especially during the school day, it just puts too much pressure on them and causes mental health anguish,” Mackey said. “That anguish then can lead to an outburst in the classroom or lead to poor academic performance.”

In light of the most recent school shooting in Georgia, some parents across the country have taken to social media with safety concerns, saying they want their children to have access to their phones should something like that happen to them. However, some parents in Homewood think cellphone bans in classrooms is a good idea.

“I think it could be less of a distraction in class. I know for me in high school it was a distraction,” Homewood parent Houston Walker said.

“Probably they should be on silent mode and maybe it would be a good rule for teachers to have a rule to just have phones on the side,” Bluff Park parent Philipp Carabuena said. “I wouldn’t imagine any reason for a child that age to have phones on during class unless it was an emergency.”

Mackey says he understands why parents want to hear directly and immediately from their children during emergencies like school shootings, but that law enforcement and school officials tell him fewer phones making calls out actually leads to more accurate information and quicker response.

“Students don’t know the information. They don’t need to,” Mackey said. “At the time that there’s a crisis, the students need to be focusing on what their teacher is asking them to do; teachers need to be focused on the students in their charge and then information comes out as it comes out.”

Currently, there’s a state law prohibiting Alabama school leaders from enacting a statewide cellphone ban in classrooms, leaving the decision up to local school boards. Mackey says given the opportunity, he would be in favor of a statewide ban.

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