CT recommends 'bell-to-bell' phone ban in schools, but devices will stay in many classrooms
On Wednesday, the State Board of Education unanimously voted for an all-day cell phone ban in schools. But the final call will still be up to
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Connecticut’s State Board of Education unanimously voted to ban cellphones from classrooms on Wednesday.
But it might not apply to your child’s school. The vote is only a recommendation. Local districts will still have the final say.
"WELCOME GUIDANCE"
Board members said that existing bans are “very effective” in increasing engagement in schools that have them.
“Speaking as a high school teacher, I think that this is welcome guidance,” said SBOE member Kristen Record.
Bans are already in place at more than one-third of elementary and middle schools, but only one-third of high schools in Connecticut, according to SBOE figures.
“These policies are indeed working,” said Connecticut education commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker.
NO STATEWIDE BAN
Despite Wednesday’s vote, mobile devices could stay in many classrooms because state lawmakers rejected Gov. Ned Lamont’s call for a statewide ban.
“I think we’re going to get that passed next year,” Lamont told reporters on May 7. “I think it had broad-based support – Republicans and Democrats, parents and superintendents – even the students after a week or two.”
Some students supported the proposal.
“Phones in schools really reduce social interaction,” a Plainville High School student told lawmakers on Feb. 20. “I can go the entire rest of my senior year without using it. I’d be perfectly fine.”
But others raised safety concerns.
“A few months ago, my 16-year-old brother was sitting in his classroom when a bullet was discovered in his classroom. His high school immediately went into a full lockdown,” said Maebel Haynes, of Litchfield. “The school provided inconsistent and delayed information.”
Superintendents have argued that calling students during an emergency can actually put students in more danger.
“I totally understand the parents driving in, but I would also say, it becomes much more difficult to evacuate a building when you have tons of parents pulling in," said Fran Rabinowitz, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.
NEW YORK EXPERIENCE
New York state banned phones a year ago.
Does it work? The results are preliminary – and mixed.
In a survey of 600 New York teachers, 80% said students are more engaged.
“Normally the phone would provide a distraction, but now when students are bored, they have no option but to talk to each other,” said Ryan Duong, a student at Schuyler Middle School in Brooklyn.
But a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed “close to zero" impact on test scores. The bans also did not improve student attendance or perceptions of online bullying. In the first year after strict bans went into place, student suspensions increased by an average of 16%.
However, a separate study from the Annenberg Institute found “significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban” in Florida.
