WICHITA, Kansas — An advisory group created by Kansas education leaders is recommending that schools ban cellphones for students at every grade level.
A majority of the 36-member Blue Ribbon Task Force on Student Screen Time voted to recommend that districts prohibit students from using cellphones for the entire school day, including during lunch and passing periods.
They also voted to recommend that students store personal devices “in a secure location that is not accessible to them during the school day.”
The group meets again this week and plans to make its final report with recommendations to the Kansas State Board of Education in November.
Derby teacher Tawna Hall serves on the task force and supports “bell-to-bell” policies that ban cellphones. She said her school allows students to use their phones between classes, but she still spends class time managing phones and other devices.
“Regardless of how much we want to believe that we can teach them to do differently, if they have access, they will get on it,” Hall said. “And they will do it over and over again.”
State school board members directed the task force to study and discuss issues related to electronic devices and the effect of social media on students’ mental health. The group includes students, teachers, parents and school leaders.
As part of their research, task force members read and discussed “The Anxious Generation,” a book by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt that looks at connections between increased screen time and the epidemic of adolescent mental illness.
Ava Gustin, a student at Mission Valley High School, southwest of Topeka, voted in favor of bell-to-bell phone bans because she said students need time away from screens.
“I’m really, personally, worried about my generation and how we interact with each other,” she said. “I think it’s important that we have that face-to-face interaction, and … hands-on learning that isn’t all on the screen.”
Gustin shared with the task force that she was diagnosed with an eating disorder as a sophomore.
“I strongly believe that if phones weren’t so prevalent in my high school or so prevalent in society, that this wouldn’t have been so harmful for me,” she said. “I just encourage you to think about students that are struggling … because they feel like the phones are surrounding them all the time.”
State school board members said they want to offer guidelines to local districts but don’t plan to impose statewide restrictions. Cellphone policies, like budget or curriculum decisions, are ultimately up to local school boards.
Some task force members voiced concerns about a total ban on cellphones.
“I need to be able to text my parents … or my boss. If a practice is canceled really last minute, I need to be able to communicate that,” said Ananya Argawal, a student in the Blue Valley district near Kansas City.
“If there was a complete bell-to-bell ban, I know students in my school would be more hesitant, and there is a bigger push for resistance toward that. … Having a bit more flexibility, like during lunch, would allow for students to be more receptive to this policy.”
Wichita, the state’s largest school district, tightened restrictions on cellphone usage last year. High school students can still use personal devices — including cellphones, laptops, headphones and earbuds — before and after school, during passing periods and at lunch. Elementary and middle school students must keep devices silenced and stored away at all times during the day.
Task force member Erika Sheets, a parent in the Blue Valley district, opposed the majority’s recommendations. She said student cellphones are “also a safety device” that could be useful during a school shooting or other emergency.
Brian Huff, superintendent of the Gardner Edgerton district, said most experts say young people should stay off personal devices during an emergency.
“For those of us who have been in school, we know that in an emergency situation, students do not use devices appropriately, and it’s actually more dangerous to have them with a device than without,” Huff said.
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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