(The Center Square) – A proposed law would force Tennessee students to go without their cellular communication devices during instructional time.
House Bill 932 is on the House calendar for Monday. The bill requires local school systems to have policies banning electronic devices while class is in session, with some exceptions.
Many Tennessee school systems already have policies regarding cellphones in place. Hamblen County Schools, which has about 10,000 students, bans them for the entire school day.
“Personal communication devices were undermining safety and negatively impacting the learning environment in Hamblen County Schools,” Superintendent Arnold Bunch told the House Education Committee this week. “We experienced drug deals that were orchestrated on phones, threats of mass violence, bullying, cheating, framing of other students, filming of and then sharing fights within our schools, sharing of inappropriate images of underage students and overall distractions in the classrooms.”
Teachers and parents have supported the ban, Bunch said.
An EDChoice survey shows that 71% of parents support a ban on cellphones in schools, while 38% support allowing them in the classroom.
The bill moved out of the House Education Committee with a vote of 16-1. Rep. Gloria Johnson, R-Knoxville, a retired teacher, cast the only “no vote.”
The Senate Education Committee passed the bill unanimously. It is currently on the Calendar Committee awaiting a vote by the full Senate.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
