Students returning to classrooms across South Carolina will soon be banned from using their cellphones in public schools because of a proviso included in this year’s state budget.
Under the proviso, the state Board of Education is responsible for working out details of the ban. The board is set to release the official policy on Aug. 13 at its monthly meeting.
Ideally, schools will start implementing the policy as soon as September, said Jason Raven, spokesperson for the Department of Education. However, the goal is to have the policy fully implemented statewide by January 2025, Raven said.
The ban is a result of discipline and mental health issues tied to cell phone usage, according to a memo from the state Department of Education. Teachers also said they were losing large amounts of instructional time to phone distractions, according to the memo.
The Department of Education surveyed around 50,000 teachers last year and got around 10,000 responses that were “pretty eye-opening,” with 92% of teachers supporting a policy that limits cellphone access, according to Raven.
“Ultimately, this is the most practical step we can take to refocus student learning, address those discipline issues, hopefully improve mental health outcomes and support our teachers,” said Raven.
Other states, including Florida and Indiana, have also banned cellphones from classrooms, according to Education Week. Ohio is requiring districts to develop policies, according the publication.
The proviso was added to the budget at the request of the Department of Education, according to state Sen. Sean Bennett, chairman of the Senate K-12 education budget subcommittee.
“There’s just so much data out there now of just mental health issues and discipline problems with kids, and so much of it can be directly dialed right back to cellphone usage,” said Bennett, R-Dorchester. “The government can’t nor should it impose itself necessarily in the family, but we can certainly impose the will within the public school system.”
Every public school in the state must implement the policy adopted by the State Board of Education in order to receive state funds, according to the proviso.
“We want the policy to be practical, easy to implement and does not make teachers cellphone police throughout the day,” said Raven.
Banning cellphone usage used to be up to individual districts, but enforcement was often ineffective, according to Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association.
A school district in Summerville is banning cellphone usage at the start of the school year, before the State Board of Education releases its formal policy, according to East.
East thinks that Dorchester District 2’s policy will be similar to what will be approved by the state Board of Education.
That district’s cellphone ban is a three-tiered approach .
Elementary school students will have to leave their phones in a cubby, middle school students will have to leave their phones in their backpacks, and high schoolers will have to turn in their phones at the start of each class, according to East.
The policy in Dorchester District 2 doesn’t ban phones from the beginning of the school day to the end, but rather just during class time, according to East.
Dorchester District 2 will also have a form for students and parents to sign saying the schools are not liable for any damages to the phones, according to East.
Waccamaw Middle School in Georgetown County implemented a cellphone ban in recent years and has seen notable positive changes, according to an article from the Georgetown Times.
Report card scores went up and classroom distractions went down, according to the article.
When asked if Dorchester District 2’s policy will be similar to the one coming from the State Board of Education, Raven said he doesn’t want to “get ahead” of the State Education Board on what exactly the official policy will look like.
“We are glad to see districts take steps to free students from the distraction and pressure of constantly being on their phones,” Raven said.
Most Popular
Comments / 0