PRATTVILLE, Ala. – State Superintendent Eric Mackey, a vocal supporter of limiting students’ cell phone usage during school hours, said he and the department of education will be watching in the legislative session multiple bills restricting students’ phone access.
Mackey told state board of education members he isn’t planning to endorse any proposal yet, preferring to see how the legislative process unfolds. The session starts Tuesday.
“They’ve all got good points and they’ve all got things we probably want to change,” he said. “In the process, one bill will take the lead and hopefully it will include all the things we want and then we’ll get involved.”
Mackey has long argued that students should not use cell phones in school, pointing to schools with bans that have reported significant improvements in behavior and academics.
Right now, local school boards decide how to handle student cell phone use, but several lawmakers are pushing for a statewide approach.
The debate over student phone use isn’t new. In 1989, Alabama lawmakers passed a law banning pocket pagers on school campuses, with limited exceptions. By 2006, as schools began promoting “bring your own device” initiatives for learning, lawmakers reversed course, allowing local districts to permit cell phone use if they chose.
The State Board of Education weighed in last year, adopting a resolution that acknowledged the negative impact of student cell phone use during school and “strongly” encouraged districts to adopt stricter policies. The board stopped short of requiring a ban.
According to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and news organization, eight states currently ban or restrict school cell phone use in schools. Lawmakers in 15 other states, including Alabama, have introduced similar legislation.
Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove, pre-filed HB65 in November which would require the state board of education to create a model policy for all local boards to adopt that prohibits public school students from “possessing or using an electronic communication device during classroom instructional time.”
Sellers said school officials have told him how disruptive phones are in classrooms.
“If academics and academic success is our priority, then let’s make sure that the educators and administrators have all the tools they need to make sure our kids are successful,” Sellers told Alabama Daily News in December.
Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, filed HB81 in early January, which mirrors Sellers’ bill but adds a mandatory discipline framework for students who violate the policy repeatedly.
Montgomery County public schools took the initiative two years ago to ban student cell phone use throughout the school day.
Communications director Jade Jones told ADN the ban has been very successful, cutting down on discipline incidents and office referrals.