By Mary Welander
State Rep., D-114
Mary Welander
Session is officially underway, and although most of us have been working on concepts and policies throughout the year, this is the beginning of narrowing down what proposals each committee will take up and how the budget might be adjusted.
These conversations will continue and evolve over the next two months, with feedback from the relevant agencies and stakeholders – which includes the most important group: you.
Specifically, I want your thoughts on a topic that has been raised in the Education Committee: cellphones in schools.
I think it is clear to many by now that cellphone usage in young children and teens can have devastating effects. Even with parental controls and the existing restrictions within school buildings our kids can access harmful sites at worst or be continually distracted and disconnected at best.
Last year the legislature asked each school district to create a cell phone policy that worked for their individual districts and communities while taking steps to reduce or restrict usage during the school day. If you have school-aged kids or have visited one of our area schools, you’ve probable heard about policies ranging from “phones must be in backpacks throughout the day” to individual classroom rules that allow some usage as part of their curriculum (digital literacy), or policies in which phones are dropped into a hanging organizer when students enter the classroom.
With any policy there are adjustments that must be made once concepts are actually implemented; this is no different. Some schools across the state have found it harder to create and carry out these policies.
That’s where the concept of a “bell to bell” cellphone ban comes from. With specific carve-outs for digital media curriculum and any health-related issues that require connection to a phone/app, this proposal would ban all phones and smart devices (like watches) from the starting bell of the school day through to dismissal.
We are parents to three teenagers; we know how challenging it can be to rein in technology usage. There is a big part of me that thinks this would be a good policy to support.
There is another part of me that is balking at it, mostly from my perspective as a mom. If there is a chance – even remotely – that my kids might be in danger, I want to be able to contact them.
From a legislative point of view, I also have concerns about how this will be enforced and potential costs. Kids are very tech-savvy and may just find a way around it. Will this put our schools back in the same position they are now? Would this require the purchase of a specific item for each phone, like a Yondr pouch? Our school budgets are tight already; would state or local funds be better used in different ways to support our teachers and students?
What do you think? Do the potential benefits of a statewide policy outweigh the potential costs? How would you address this issue? Let me know; email me at mary.welander@cga.ct.gov.