(The Center Square) – Some Arizona politicians hope that state law will ban cell phones during school hours during the next legislative session.
“The problem of cell phones in the classroom is a real emergency,” Department of Education Superintendent Tom Horne said at a news conference Thursday, arguing that the problem of student distraction in class is getting worse.
Bill 2793sponsored by Rep. Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria), was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs in April. The bill passed along party lines in the House, with Republicans supporting it and Democrats voting against it.
“This bill creates an unnecessary mandate for a problem that schools are already dealing with,” Hobbs wrote in her veto letter at the time. Skeptics of the bill also argue that if a student does not carry their cellphone with them all day, it could pose a safety risk for parents to contact their children in emergency situations. The school board, meanwhile, argued that lockdown protocols typically require cellphones to be taken away from students, and there is usually a number parents can use to reach their students if there is a family emergency.
At Thursday’s event, former Tucson teacher Mitchell Rutherford said he quit his job because of growing frustration over cellphone use. Supporters of statewide legislation said it would make it easier for teachers to use coercion rather than leaving it up to individual classes, schools or districts to decide.
“Laws could help students and teachers win the battle for attention, at least in our classrooms,” Rutherford said.
The future legislation process is expected to include input from a variety of education stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents and students.
“I look forward to working with them and establishing a task force,” said Senator Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix), encouraging people to reach out to her with different ideas on how to implement the policy statewide.
A Pew Research Center study A June study found that 72% of high school teachers in the United States said cellphone use was a “big problem” when working with students. Horne told reporters that from a policy perspective, ideally there should be no difference between policies for high school students and those for middle and elementary school students. Many school districts across the country have begun cellphone bans, and some states like new York examine the implementation of nationwide Mobile phone bans in classrooms.
