North Carolina lawmakers are sending a message to students that they need to put away their phones when they’re in class and focus on learning.

The state House voted 114-3 on Tuesday to pass legislation requiring the state’s public schools to eliminate or severely restrict student access to cellphones during instructional time. The vote came the same day the Wake County school board considered a draft cellphone policy that it wants to have in place for next school year.

The state Senate already passed a bill restricting phone use in schools. State lawmakers will try to reconcile which version will be sent to Gov. Josh Stein, who has said he’d support legislation banning phones in class.

“I think it’s going to be a safety improvement,” said Rep. Brian Biggs, a Randolph County Republican and one of the House Bill 87’s primary sponsors. “I think it’s going to be great for our kids.”

Phones in classrooms considered a distraction

There are concerns that phones in class disrupt learning, promote social media addiction and can lead to cyberbullying.

That concern is borne out in Wake County, where surveys found that 81% of families and 88% of educators said instructional time is lost due to phone use in class. In addition, 85% of families and 93% of educators said phones are a distraction during class.

There’s been a major push nationwide to restrict students from using phones in class.

At least 19 states have laws or policies that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools statewide or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies, according to an Education Week analysis.

Rep. Ya Liu, a Wake County Democrat, has told her two teenagers that they’re on their phones too much.

“They warned me ‘Mom, if you dare to do a cellphone ban from campus, you will be the most hated legislator in the General Assembly,’” Liu told her colleagues. “And I told them, ‘Guess what, you don’t have a say because you can’t vote. But you can preregister to vote after you turn 17.”

Parents want kids to have phones at school

Some North Carolina schools not only ban students from using their phones during the school day but also ban them from even bringing them to school. But Wake surveys didn’t find support going that far.

Based on Wake surveys, 80% of students, 72% of families and 69% of educators said students should be allowed to bring their phones to school.

“Personal wireless communication devices are vital tools for parents and guardians to communicate with their children,” said Julie Crain, senior director of policy and strategic initiatives. “Families choose to equip students with personal wireless communication devices, for example, to facilitate transportation, ensure the safe location of children, and monitor health information,

“These devices serve families well, though inappropriate use at school may challenge student engagement in the classroom.”

Support was even stronger for allowing phones during emergencies. In the surveys, 96% of students, 89% of families and 79% of educators indicated that emergencies are a reason for students to have access to their phones.

As a result, Wake’s draft policy allows students to have their phones at school. But they’d be required to be turned off/silenced/in airplane mode and not displayed during school hours except when:

▪ Use of the phone is specifically authorized or required by a student’s individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan or by the individualized health plan (IHP) developed by the school nurse.

▪ The principal allows teachers to authorize wireless communication devices to be used during class provided that the teacher can supervise student use.

▪ The student needs to use the device to communicate with parents/guardians or emergency service personnel in the event of a sudden emergency. The policy doesn’t define sudden emergencies.

▪ High schools could allow phones to be used during specified non-instructional times during the school day, such as class transitions, lunch and breaks.

New Wake policy for next school year

Wake may need to change the policy based on what legislation becomes law. For instance, the House version would allow Wake to say phones are to be silenced during class while the Senate version says the devices are to be turned off.

The House amended its version on Tuesday to include the Senate’s exceptions for allowing phones to be used for instructional purposes or medical or special education reasons. Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Mecklenburg County Republican, said teachers in some of the state’s small school districts allow students to use their phones in class.

Violation of Wake’s policy would result in temporary confiscation of phones. There could be other disciplinary consequences, especially if the phones were used to bully, threaten or harass other students.

A revised policy will be brought back to the board on April 22. The board could vote on the policy in May.

Wake’s goal is to have the phone policy in effect July 1 for the next school year.

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