The North Carolina General Assembly is advancing legislation to limit cell phone use in public schools.
The House K-12 education committee approved a bill Tuesday to require school boards and charter schools to create policies that restrict cell phone use during class time. The bill now moves to the House judiciary committee.
Rep. Neal Jackson, R-Moore, Randolph, co-sponsored the bill. Jackson said he was inspired to write it after visiting a school in Moore County with a “cell phone-free” policy.
In the art room of Union Pines High School, he said, students drop off their phones in a container before starting class.
“I was with the principal, and I’m like, ‘How’s that work out for you?'” Jackson recalled. “He said, ‘Neil, it’s the greatest thing ever.’ He said, ‘It removes distractions from the kids. It keeps them from playing games on their phones. It keeps them from cheating, and it keeps them from being addicted to their phone.'”
House bill sponsors want school boards to control their own policies
Jackson said the House’s bill tries to give school boards flexibility on how they write a cell phone policy, but requires that they put one in place next school year.
“How that works out is up to the school board. We’re not saying you have to do that a certain way,” Jackson said. “If you go to Chatham County, they have the little pouches … that the kids don’t have access (to) all day long, but in Moore County, they have access in between classes.”
According to research by legislative staff, 77 of the state’s 115 school boards in North Carolina currently have policies restricting cell phone use. Wake County Schools’ board of education is in the process of drafting one now. This bill, and another in the Senate, would make implementing those policies mandatory statewide.
A similar bill proposed in the Senate would put more requirements on school boards, including that the policies establish consequences for violations and that schools submit their policies to the Department of Public Instruction. That bill will be heard by a Senate education committee Wednesday.
Committee members raise questions about details
The bill appeared to pass the House K-12 education committee without any “nay” votes, although a few Democrats on the committee raised concerns about details. Rep. Cynthia Ball, D-Wake, questioned whether the bill should include restrictions on smart watches. Rep. Julie von Haefen, D-Wake, asked whether policies would be reviewed by a state agency.
Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, noted that school boards might have to respond to complaints from parents who want to call their children, especially during an emergency.
“If it’s an active shooter, they want to be in touch with their kids,” Morey said.
“The last thing we want them doing at that point, if there is an emergency going on, is fiddling with their phone,” said Rep. David Willis, R-Union. “That’s not the best time for parents to be contacting their kids. I get it. They want to know that they’re there and they’re safe, but that’s not the proper time.”
“If you have suggestions, we are very open to listening, but at the same time, we don’t want to over-regulate the schools,” Jackson said in response to questions from Democrats.
