Indianapolis — Students in Indiana will no longer be allowed to use cell phones in class.
Senate Bill 185 was approved during this legislative session and will take effect on Monday, July 1.
The bill would establish requirements for cell phone usage in Indiana schools.
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“We do not allow our sons to bring their cellphones to school,” Shawnta Stockton Barnes stated.
Barnes is a father with over a decade of experience as an educator.
“I think there should be some burden on parents to teach their kids healthy habits with cell phones,” Mr. Barnes said.
Barnes’ sons attend MSD Washington Township School, which already has a cell phone policy. However, all districts in the state will now be expected to have one and adhere to comparable criteria.
According to the measure, cell phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming devices are not permitted in classrooms unless they are used for educational purposes, someone has a disability or medical concern, or there is an emergency.
“We have a problem with kids paying attention in school,” State Representative Julie McGuire stated. “Testing scores continue to go down, we have too many distractions in life and social media takes over our kids’ lives.”
Barnes says she supports the policy but is concerned about the pressure it places on teachers and believes more should be done to encourage students to pay attention in class.
“Yes, that solves the problem for the drama kids can have on their cell phones, but it doesn’t necessarily correlate to kids paying attention more, in my opinion,” Barnes told the audience. “We still have to work on the strategy to help kids be good note-takers, how to focus when they’re in class when they should advocate for themselves to ask questions if they do not understand the academic content.”
It is now up to the individual school boards to implement and display the regulations on the district’s website.
Lawmakers expect it will enhance classroom behavior and social skills.
“If there’s not a phone in their hand during class, maybe they’re going to sit and talk with their neighbor or talk to their friends in the hallway,” McGuire told me.
Source: WRTV