Yes, schools are already allowed to establish their own policies related to smart devices. In fact, some institutions already start their school days sealing cellphones in magnetic locking pouches and finish them with a rush of students hurrying to “unlocking” stations. But, Fillmore said what may change with SB178, a bill he introduced this year, is the default setting for cellphone policies in schools.
With much support from public commenters and legislative leadership, the Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to recommend the bill for the full Senate consideration Tuesday afternoon.
Allowing local school districts to decide their stance on the devices is fine, Fillmore said. However, with the current status quo, their default position is to have no restrictions on phones inside schools.
“The question that (school districts) are asking now is, ‘how can we restrict these devices so we are minimizing the damage that they have on kids’ health and academic performance?’” Fillmore told the committee. “But by passing this bill, we change the default and just change the question that local districts ask in an important way.”
With the new policy, that question, Fillmore said, would shift to “how can we integrate this technology in order to support education and support kids’ health?”
Under SB178 school districts would be required to adopt a policy surrounding cellphone use. If they don’t, phones won’t be allowed during class time. That includes any type of phone that’s capable of transmitting and receiving voice calls, data or texts, not just smartphones, and would extend to personal digital assistant devices and smartwatches.
However, institutions may draft guidelines for when these devices could be allowed in schools, including in case of emergency or to address a medical necessity.
“In schools where this has already been tried, in Utah and across the country, we really see a lot of positive outcomes for students, both academically and related to their health and bullying incidents,” Fillmore said during his presentation.
Read the full report at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
