Should Connecticut schools ban cellphones all day?

Gov. Ned Lamont thinks so.

But on Friday, dozens of students, school leaders and state lawmakers raised concerns about the proposal.

'CONSTANT STRUGGLE'

Kids are glued to their phones these days. School leaders told lawmakers that it’s a major distraction.

“It is a constant distraction and a constant struggle for staff,” said Putnam Public Schools Superintendent Steven Rioux. “The addiction that many of our children are facing is this generation’s crisis.”

Rioux joined a long list of school leaders and students at a hearing on Lamont’s proposed all-day school cellphone ban.

“Look, the classroom is not enough because the second they get out of the classroom, they’re on the phone in the hallway,” Lamont told News 12 Connecticut’s “Power and Politics.” “It’s tough to enforce. Let’s get the phones out of the schools.”

New York and 30 other states have similar restrictions, although some allow phones in high schools.

Students and lawmakers are divided. Some 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.”

State Rep. Lezlye Zupkis (R-Prospect) added: “My daughter, at one point, there was supposedly an active shooter, and she did text me and say, ‘Mom, I’m OK.’ And I appreciated that.”

Others argued that a cellphone ban could backfire.

“If you’re just taking it away from students, I feel like that’s not really teaching them anything about the appropriate use of cellphones in the real world,” said Jaya Iyer, a student at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk.

But some students support the idea.

“Phones in schools really reduce social interaction,” said Julian Stewart, a Plainville High School student. “I can go the entire rest of my senior year without using it. I’d be perfectly fine.”

According to a State Department of Education survey, 70% of elementary and middle schools already prohibit mobile phones for the entire day, but only 31% of high schools do.

The survey also found that 66% of school districts reported that their policy was either “very effective” or “somewhat effective” in increasing student engagement and learning, and 45% reported fewer behavior issues during classroom time.

Lamont’s proposal would let schools decide how to enforce the ban – either in a storage locker or with sealable pouches. And there would be exceptions for students with special needs and classroom learning activities.

“This is from the minute they walk into the school building,” said John Frassinelli with the State Department of Education. “There has to be a protocol in place to go into a Yondr pounch; they go into a storage facility.”

But some teachers believe an all-out ban could be hard to endorse.

“That just quickly becomes another thing that the teachers have had to do, and it becomes where the teacher is the bad guy,” said Nick Menapace, a New London teacher and Democratic state representative.

Lamont’s proposal and a similar bill both face votes in the General Assembly’s Education Committee over the next few weeks. After that, they would go to the full Connecticut House of Representatives.

You can submit testimony HERE.