Vicksburg Daily News –
JACKSON, MS – by: Frank Corder – The Mississippi Senate’s Mental Health Task Force recently held a hearing where lawmakers discussed possible legislation to curb cellphone use in schools. The move, legislators contend, largely centers around concerns over mental health in K-12 students and distractions in the classroom.
As previously reported, at least 15 states have enacted laws that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in public schools, or at a minimum, recommend local school districts enact their own bans or restrictions, according to an Education Week analysis published in June.
State Senator David Parker (R), chairman of the task force, told Magnolia Tribune cellphone use is creating a crisis that is reflected in countless areas.
“I expect our task force to recommend that cellphone use be restricted during these key moments in education,” Parker said. “We continue to look at best practices to achieve this goal and hope to have a legislative method to help achieve this goal.”
To aid in their discussion, the Senate task force requested that the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) survey all school district superintendents about their student cellphone use policies and practices.
MDE’s cellphone survey drew responses from 125 of the state’s 138 school districts. Magnolia Tribune obtained the results of the MDE August 2024 school district survey through a public records request.
When asked if the district completely restricts all students’ access to their cellphones during the school day, 44 school districts, or 35 percent, said yes.
The survey showed 12 percent of school districts that responded allowed elementary students to access or use cellphones during non-instructional time compared to 33 percent in middle school and 76 percent in high school.
During instructional time, 17 percent of district respondents allowed elementary students to access their cellphones while the number rose in middle school to 31 percent and in high school to 52 percent.
School districts were also asked to share any concerns they had with student cellphone use during the school day. Some respondents mentioned videoing and taking photos during the day, while others expressed concerns about bullying, social media, other devices like Apple watches or AirPods, and even security.
Below are a few of the responses from Mississippi school districts to the MDE cellphone survey:
- “Even though students are not allowed to use phones they do sneak around and use them to post/check on social media, call family members/friends, and occasionally film or take pics.” – Amite County School District
- “Every student in our school has an iPad which can be used to do anything a phone can do. We restrict what we can but if there’s a will there’s a way. Kids are smart. Technology is here to stay. We have to find a way to embrace it.” – Baldwyn School District
- “Cell phone usage and policing of cell phones becomes a burden for schools. If there was a way to legislate or ban phones would be helpful.” – Clarksdale Municipal School District
- “While technology can be a valuable tool for learning when used appropriately, I believe it is essential for schools to establish clear guidelines and policies regarding cell phone use to ensure that it does not hinder the learning process. By promoting responsible and mindful use of cell phones, schools can help students harness the benefits of technology while minimizing its potential drawbacks on their education and overall well-being.” – Jefferson County School District
- “Many times a minor disciplinary incident gets blown out of proportion through student use of his/her cell phone. Once a rumor is made public, it takes on a life of its own.” – Lawrence County School District
- “We do restrict cell phone usage on our own district wifi. Unfortunately, cell phones are the bane of an educators existence. They are completely distracting and it is hard to control constantly. They do not help with the ‘bullying’ situation and drama that goes on throughout the day. A while back, we tried to take them away until the parents paid a fee to get them back after they violated the policy for x amount of times, but a parent threatened with a lawsuit b/c it was technically his property. Now that we are 1:1 with laptops, we feel we could cut them out altogether but parents have a complete melt down with the thoughts of their child without a phone during a crisis and if we are very strict on our policy, we would be disciplining all day long. Students and adults alike are all addicted. Many efforts have been made to keep them in another spot in the classroom until class is over, but that has even presented a problem. With Chromebooks we have the ability to completely control and filter the Chromebook usage.” – Long Beach School District
- “Our policy is clear about cell phone use during instructional time. However, our principals have the ability to decide when they can be accessed. We are 1:1 so communication can take place on their devices. We have had other devices such as watches that have had to address. Cell phone use at school to me is not the main issue… its at home in those unregulated environments. The inappropriate uses we deal with mostly come from outside of the educational environment.” – Rankin County School District
- “We would like to see zero tolerance for cell phone use at schools.” – Starkville-Oktibbeha School District
- “I have no problem with the students using their phones if it is for instructional use only. A lot of kids in the MS Delta like to orchestrate fights and broadcast false info to the community on social media.” – Sunflower County Consolidate School District
- “Even though we have a policy that does not allow cell phone use during the regular school day it is almost impossible to enforce the policy without limiting students from physically possessing their phones. We are waiting to see how schools like Marshall County fair with the Yondr system.” – Water Valley School District
The Marshall County School District’s new cellphone policy states that the devices should be bagged and sealed in pouches (Yondr) at the start of the school day. Teachers unlock the pouches for the students at the end of the day.
In a July Facebook post, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann called the move “forward-thinking,” adding, “Research shows when students are engaged in learning, they are more likely to be physically and mentally healthy, show up for class, and be successful in the future.”
Hosemann went on to say that he would be pushing for statewide cellphone restrictions in Mississippi public school classrooms during the 2025 legislative session.
Magnolia Tribune first published this article. The Vicksburg Daily News republished it here under a Creative Commons license.
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