* LA Times…
In a survey of police in 81 school districts in 1986, 51 said beepers or phones were being used by students for drug sales.
“We were trying to stop the drug dealers,” said Illinois Rep. Mary Flowers, who led the effort to pass her state’s ban in [1990]. “The only kids who could afford them were selling dope. It was in the context of the ‘Just Say No’ campaign. That was all we were trying to do.”
* Chicago Tribune, 2001…
Gov. George Ryan on Friday signed into law a bill that will allow students to use cell phones in the state’s public schools for the first time in more than a decade. […]
“Parents use the phones to stay in contact with their children,” Ryan said. “Incidents involving school violence have also pointed out the importance of having access to cellular communication. It is important that we allow an avenue of communication for these parents and children.”
Illinois lawmakers banned the phones from public schools in 1990. At that time teachers were concerned that drug deals would be negotiated on cell phones and the shrill rings would disrupt classrooms.
But times have changed, said Rep. Mary Flowers, (D-Chicago), who championed the initial ban.
She cited such tragedies as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Columbine shootings as examples of the importance of staying connected with loved ones and authorities.
“With Columbine it was the children who had the cell phones who saved other children’s lives,” Flowers said.
* From a Tribune op-ed that year in support of lifting the cellphone ban…
Times have changed. Today, according to one market research firm, three of every four teenagers have cell phones, which have become small, convenient, nearly ubiquitous and relatively inexpensive. Increasingly, parents equip their children with cell phones so they can keep track of them.
Flowers says it’s time to repeal her 1990 law and let cell phones into the schools. The Illinois House has agreed with her and passed her repeal bill. The Senate ought to do the same just as promptly as possible. […]
Also, telephones can be almost as addictive to a teenager as any drug. Control will be a challenge. But it is a challenge that some districts already have met by a combination of judicious rule-making and reasonable enforcement.
Cell phones are too much a part of modern American life for schools to simply try to ignore and keep out. It’s time to repeal the ban and let students and schools learn how to live with them.
* Yesterday…
Gov. J.B Pritzker wants to limit the use of cellphones in public school classrooms, potentially making Illinois one of several states around the country that have implemented cellphone bans.
“In conversations with educators and parents around the state – there is one thing they commonly cite as an impediment to learning in the classroom: cell phones,” said Pritzker during his State of the State address Wednesday.
“Cyberbullying has expanded at alarming rates, and it’s time for Illinois to take measures to protect our kids,” he added. […]
State Sens. Cristina Castro, who chairs the Senate’s executive committee, and Meg Loughran Cappel, who chairs the Senate education committee – both Democrats – have filed Senate Bill 2427, which would require schools to create a policy prohibiting the use of cellphones during instructional time and create guidelines on how to store cellphones when in a school building by the 2026-27 school year. It also allows for some exceptions for when students can use cellphones.
House Bill 2975, filed by state Rep. Curtis Tarver, a Democrat who chairs several committees in the House, is slightly different in that it calls for the school board to prohibit the use of cellphones in school and on school property except during “lunch, recess, passing periods, or emergency situations.”
* So, I reached out to former Rep. Flowers and asked what she thought about Gov. Pritzker’s proposal to re-ban mobile phones in schools…
I think the issue was resolved 26 years ago after Columbine, and I would encourage the Governor to do what I did back then, talk to constituents. I think he will find, just as we did 26 years ago, that parents want to be able to contact their kids, and perhaps more importantly than ever today, parents want their kids to be able to contact them. Given the enormous financial and public health challenges facing our communities, I would have hoped to have heard more from the Governor on current crises like addressing the lack of affordable housing, maternal mortality or reducing the disproportionate health outcomes that African American families across IL too often face. The list can go on, but nowhere on that list do I see cell phones in schools as the priority Illinoisans are looking to Democrats for leadership at this moment in time.
Thoughts?
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:43 am:
Comparing 1990 cell phones to 2025 cell phones is like comparing a Model T to a Hybrid Electric.
- Downstate - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:44 am:
A private school in our area doesn’t allow them in the classroom. It’s part of the work towards self-discipline for the students. And parents are gravitating to get their children in the place.
Culture, as a word, has many meanings. A fundamental aspect of “culture” is expectations of the students and their attention in the classroom.
Safety is certainly a concern, but it seems there are so many other tools already in place (restricted school access, lockable classrooms, etc.) that outweigh continual connectivity.
- Grimlock - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:44 am:
Parents do want to be able to contact their kids, and sometimes that is the problem. Many parents lack the judgement to hold a text or call to a more appropriate time and want to bother their kid during school hours about things that can wait until after school.
- Garfield Ridge Guy - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:47 am:
The Governor is correct to try to ban phones in school, and he is correct to make this a priority. It’s tricky because he can’t actually say this, but “what parents want” isn’t a sufficient justification to allow for a practice that is so deleterious to in-classroom learning.
I would be curious how Representative Flowers would feel about a compromise, where students are allowed to have on them at all times a 20-year-old flip phone, so long as the phone cannot go online, play any games/videos/music, or do anything other than call and receive calls from up to two preprogrammed phone numbers. I would also be OK with that compromise, but I suspect she would not.
- Southern Dude - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:49 am:
Let the local School Boards decide
- Incandenza - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:49 am:
== Comparing 1990 cell phones to 2025 cell phones is like comparing a Model T to a Hybrid Electric. ==
Or more aptly like comparing an 18th century musket to an AR-15.
- ;) - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:52 am:
Rep.Flowers saying it like it as again; God bless her. She could’ve said way more but she took the high road and was spot on. The Governor showed why we Democrats will keep losing elections if we don’t get our act together. This tone deaf nonsense is crazy. The Governor is trying to fight ghosts when there are real battles roaring all around that need to be fought.
- Excitable Boy - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:53 am:
- Comparing 1990 cell phones to 2025 cell phones -
This is a good point. Maybe a ban on smart phones specifically makes sense.
- Arsenal - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 8:59 am:
I dunno, man. I’m an adult with an average amount of self-control and I can hardly keep myself from grabbing my phone during meetings. I can’t imagine how it is for kids and teens.
Does that override the legit safety concerns? I dunno. But I think it’s worth discussing.
- historic66 - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:00 am:
===The Governor is trying to fight ghosts when there are real battles roaring all around that need to be fought.===
Tell me you haven’t been inside a high school classroom in the last 15 years without telling me you haven’t been inside a high school classroom in the last 15 years. Phones are a massive distraction and are significantly impacting learning in negative ways.
- Arsenal - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:00 am:
==Rep.Flowers saying it like it as again; God bless her. She could’ve said way more but she took the high road and was spot on. The Governor showed why we Democrats will keep losing elections if we don’t get our act together.==
I’m not sure Flowers is the person you want to deputize if you’re worried about Dems losing elections.
- Don in Rochester - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:02 am:
Why can’t students turn their phones off until Noon Dinner?
- Norseman - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:04 am:
The point being made by Incandenza is important. The only reason cell phones are even considered to be necessary in schools is because gun worshippers wanted to play with kid slaughter weapons. People think about those gut-wrenching reports of kids calling their parents as classmates are being blown away around them. This is an emotional and understandable reaction by folks. However, the real goal is to ensure authorities respond quickly and kids are safe. I would like to here from school folks like JS.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:07 am:
=Comparing 1990 cell phones to 2025 cell phones is like comparing a Model T to a Hybrid Electric=
Or like comparing a backpack to a pants pocket.
- A perspective - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:21 am:
Phones are in fact not like they were in the 90’s. One aspect that will need to be considered is that since 2019 phones are often medically related devices. Individuals , like myself, monitor key health data, give injections, and interact with medical devices through their phone. For young people this has lessened the stigma associated with chronic illness because everyone has a phone. I believe I understand the concern and the greater good argument, but I hope a solution does not reverse the independence that young people with chronic illness have been able to discover through their phone.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:24 am:
=I would be curious how Representative Flowers would feel about a compromise, where students are allowed to have on them at all times a 20-year-old flip phone, so long as the phone cannot go online, play any games/videos/music, or do anything other than call and receive calls from up to two preprogrammed phone numbers.=
Jitterbug and some other companies still make similar phones but they are geared toward seniors. Maybe the compromise could be kids could only have Jitterbug phone call-only phones in school, again with two preprogrammed numbers (e.g., parent or guardian, workplace).
- Amalia - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:27 am:
the number of kids for whom a phone is absolutely necessary is small. those can be resolved including by having the phone nearby in one of those classroom pouches and seating the student near it (medical) But for all but a tiny number of students this restriction will help with attention and order. Vote yes.
- Henry Francis - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:31 am:
This seems like a no brainer to me. I know my kids are on their phones during class far too much for my tastes, and it is clear they are unable to focus on what they are being taught. Kids are addicted to their phones. A 5 hour break from phones would do wonders for them.
I don’t understand the safety concerns. Is it so parents can have instant access to their kids in case of a school shooting? While the risks of children being school shooting victims have more than quadrupled since 1970, it is still relatively low (2.21 per 1 million students).
And again, what is the safety concern that phones address? Is this to address the parents concern for their kids, or the actual safety of the kids? (We all know the answer to keeping kids safe at school is more guns in schools /s)
- Homebody - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:35 am:
Even if we give credence to the “but what if a school shooting” argument (which I largely don’t, for statistics based reasons), it is remains depressing that Americans often are willing to make everything else worse rather than take necessary steps to solve an underlying problem.
We are a country of belated half measures, because we no longer think big.
- I-55 Fanatic - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:37 am:
This is beside the larger point, but I’m extremely skeptical of that 1986 survey. The linked article reads as though the survey states that 51 out of 81 police officers in schools say beepers were being used for drug sales. What police officers *say* happens is absolutely not the same thing as what actually happens. Not to mention the fact that the article doesn’t even link to the survey… it just says that it exists.
But anyway, I predict that one day, an effort to ban phones in school will be seen similarly to things like banning indoor smoking or stopping the use of leaded gasoline.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:37 am:
A relative of mine is a high school teacher and reports that phones are a constant problem. Kids are looking at their phones throughout class rather than participating.
The visual and audio distractions are exponentially higher than in 1990s dumb phones. Looking at social media has nothing to do with communicating with parents or calling 911.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:39 am:
I think that this is a challenging subject complicated by the fact that legislators and the Governor are mostly of a generation of people that did not have cellphones in school or if they did it was before social media and apps. There are a lot of individual dynamics involved that can vary from classroom to classroom, student to student, and parent to parent.
I don’t think creating statewide legislation is appropriate and it adds a draconian element that is unnecessary.
The generation(s) of elected officials who went to play in parks and outdoors by themselves as children made it illegal to let children play outside unattended.
We don’t need to write statutes governing cellphone use in classrooms.
The Governor is probably just excited we’re talking about something other than taxes and cutting programs.
- ;) - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:44 am:
How about for kidnappings/Amber alerts? What about when a disgruntled divorced parent shows up to take a kid when they aren’t supposed to? A lot of parents and children share locations. Or how about when 9/11 happened, or god forbid, there’s a similar event ? And that’s an example from personal experience when I was a kid and was attending school an hour away from home every day and had to use public transportation. A school can’t handle 1300+ parents calling all at once, and parents don’t want to talk to some faculty member they want to hear directly from their child, and immediately. I’m going to venture that if I took a poll of 50,000 people not one would say this is a priority issue. I don’t think we would find 10 who would even mention the word cell phone.
- Trail - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 9:59 am:
My concern is that before cell phones, kids could use pay phones to contact their parents in the event of an emergency. Those aren’t around anymore. How do we remove cell phones from schools while also maintaining the previous level of communication and safety afforded to us by the old (now gone) methods of communication?
- ArchPundit - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 10:04 am:
Requiring each district to have a plan but leaving the plan open to the district is a fairly effective way to force districts to have a strategy for dealing with phones while allowing for each district to make a choice. They have the power now, but it pushes them to formalize a policy.
There are also strategies like having students put them in a pouch at the door for the class period which allows them outside of class, but stops usage during class.
====parents don’t want to talk to some faculty member they want to hear directly from their child, and immediately.
Strangely, never once in 13 years of my kids in school did this ever happen. Creating what ifs about some scenario that may happen is strange. We did find dealing with such situations before cell phones somehow and this obsession with being in constant contact while there are perfectly good professionals watching over your kids unhealthy.
- I-55 Fanatic - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 10:06 am:
“before cell phones, kids could use pay phones”
Really, is that a thing that happened? If there was an emergency happening at school, did students really leave campus to go find the nearest pay phone to call their parents? And this should go without saying, but in the event of an emergency, teachers and administrators will still constantly have their phones on them.
- AlfondoGonz - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 10:29 am:
I’d support a cell phone ban in schools. Students can leave them in their lockers, which should address most concerns regarding the child’s ability to be contacted by their parent.
- NomChompsky - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 10:30 am:
Students not having access to phones had been the norm for decades without parents feeling as if they couldn’t be contacted or couldn’t contact their kids. If I was ill in school, I could go to the nurse, and have them contact my parent and be picked up or otherwise free to head home and recover. If my parent needed to pick me up for whatever reason before school was over, they could contact the school and I would be collected.
What is the purpose of the school administration if not to do these kinds of things? Smart phones have become the chief method by which social media conglomerates leverage huge resources to compete for our attention, and there is plenty of time outside of the classroom for our attention to be farmed out by these companies.
But also, kids who don’t want to pay attention will find ways to occupy their attention anyway. Smart phones aren’t the root cause of all evil. I think restrictions could work, but am also receptive to the arguments in favor of keeping them. I just feel that “Parents want to be able to contact their kids” is the weakest of these.
- Pundent - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 10:32 am:
=Students can leave them in their lockers=
You’ll be surprised to learn that most schools stopped using lockers years ago
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 10:45 am:
===Comparing 1990 cell phones to 2025 cell phones is like===
Literally nobody is doing that here.
- James - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 11:07 am:
Pritzker is 100 percent right on this. Study after study has found that constant connectivity is not a positive thing for adults, and truly horrible for kids. Thank you JB.
- Illinanny - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 11:37 am:
Does the current law prevent teachers from requiring students to have phones turned off during classroom time and disciplining non compliance? Is there something preventing individual schools or districts from implementing policies and restrictions? If, in fact, this requires the state to step in, it’s a pretty sad commentary on the capabilities of our school systems.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 11:38 am:
===Really, is that a thing that happened? If there was an emergency happening at school, did students really leave campus to go find the nearest pay phone to call their parents?===
Yes. Public schools would often have pay phones in or near them. There was also a time when individual classrooms did not have telephones and literally anyone needing to use the phone would have to go to the office.
There also used to be a time when public schools didn’t have electrical power, too.
We’ve come a pretty long way.
- Remember the Alamo II - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 11:40 am:
=== One aspect that will need to be considered is that since 2019 phones are often medically related devices. ===
If that is necessary for a particular student, then the school can provide a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Remember the Alamo II - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 11:46 am:
=== Does the current law prevent teachers from requiring students to have phones turned off during classroom time and disciplining non compliance? ===
No but school administrations do. I would hope JSMill would provide some insights into this topic as I find his comments to be very reasonable and thought out when it comes to these types of issues.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 11:53 am:
“Kids are looking at their phones throughout class rather than participating.”
Maybe the problem isn’t phones?
I was in HS in the 90s. I had a cell phone, granted it wasn’t interesting enough to play with in class. What I also had, was a TI-85 graphing calculator. It was able to run programs which were rudimentary games. Especially if you learned how to program it yourself. There was a ’slot machine’ game a few of us wrote, and someone came across the predecessor game to Angry Birds - it was a game with two gorillas throwing bananas at each other and you had to input the angle and speed to throw the banana to hit your opponent. The one who hit first won. Because of the link cable, this could be a two-player game for two people with the same calculator.
I played with that calculator a lot during boring English classes where the teacher just read verbatim out of a book as the ‘lesson’.
I did not play with that calculator a lot in my Physics class when the instructor was using real-life demonstrations of physical concepts as part of the lesson. Our teacher even helped us with programming questions on the calculator and let us learn ourselves how to make it work the way we really wanted.
I did not play with that calculator in World History class while the teacher was subtly trying to teach us about the more seedy sides of history involving Caligula.
I did play with that calculator a lot in German class when we were handed out our daily list of words to memorize. I did not play with that calculator when we took our class trip to Germany for two weeks and ended up learning and speaking German better in two weeks than in the 3 years of classes.
Today - I do spend a lot of time writing programs and get paid quite well for it.
A change in teaching methods would do more to address the issue of distraction than taking the easy way of banning the symptom. The underlying cause of why distraction takes over during education still exists.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 12:06 pm:
I think my favorite part about all of this is the notion that passing a state law to ban the student use of cell phones in class room is actually going to be effective or more effective than what individual teachers and school administrators are already doing to address cell phone usage and or cyber bullying.
===Cyberbullying has expanded at alarming rates, and it’s time for Illinois to take measures to protect our kid===
I understand the intent here, and the intent and policy goals are good, but I really don’t see how a state law regulating how literal children are using their cell phones in school is going to be any different than passing a law that informs k-12 students to not be dicks to each other.
Even if the ban was effective and somehow 100% of the kids in public k-12 environments followed it, it only changes — when — cyber bullying occurs.
We’d probably be better off in terms of public policy passing the “Be Excellent To Each Other Act” and devote classroom time to teaching kids the moral values of the Wyld Stallyns. Bill and Ted for a better future, now that’s a policy proposal I could get behind. At least then it is something positive and we might actually stand a chance at convincing some kids to be excellent to each other instead of teaching them how to better conceal their mobile devices.
- 51st Ward - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 12:16 pm:
Everyone seems to accept school shootings as a situation in which students should have access to their phones. The reality is that, when news of a lockdown leaks, students’ phones immediately blow up with texts and calls from concerned parents. If there is an intruder looking for victims, the cacophony of sound behind that locked door is a good indication where they’re hiding.
- Thomas Paine - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 12:31 pm:
=== This seems like a no brainer to me. I know my kids are on their phones during class far too much for my tastes, and it is clear they are unable to focus on what they are being taught. Kids are addicted to their phones. A 5 hour break from phones would do wonders for them. ===
Take. Your. Kids’. Phones.
I do not know how to say this more plainly. If you think your kids spend too much time on their cell phones, don’t get them a cell phone, or make them leave their phones behind when they go to school, or disable the apps when they are at school.
If you think my straight-A kids with five extra-curricular activities should not have cell phones at school, mind your own business.
My kids having cell phones is not affecting you or your kids.
I would add as well that I think there is a reason that we have not heard of a sweeping effort by local school districts to implement cell phone bans. Unpopular with parents and teachers and administrators.
- Suburban Mom - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 12:51 pm:
Our public K-8 district allows phones but they must be locked in lockers during school hours. Little kids mostly have those phone watches. We joined the “Wait until 8th” movement where kids don’t get smartphones until high school, so my junior high student has a flip phone that calls and texts. No photos, no location tracking, just calls and texts.
The high school is mostly handling it with those pocket hangers on the door where you drop your phone in at the beginning of class and can grab it again at the end.
My high schooler was not following the phone rules appropriately, so I turned the “locked hours” on his phone (for when kids are supposed to be asleep) to be school hours. He can call us before or after school, but if he needs to talk to us during school, he can go to the office and call on the school’s phone. We make our kids put their cell phones in in the living room anyway so they don’t get in the habit of taking them to bed, so I don’t need his “locked hours” at night.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 12:52 pm:
=that parents want to be able to contact their kids, and perhaps more importantly than ever today, parents want their kids to be able to contact them.=
First, what parents want may not be what is best for teaching and learning. When we started making educational decisions via popularity poll (thanks politicians) is exactly when we started to see a decline in outcomes. Educators are trained professionals. Not everyone is a superstar, but most do a solid job. This issue should be left to the individual districts. We adopted a ban and it is excellent for our kids. They are to be turned off and in their locker (yes @Pundent, we still use our lockers
) and this is working. Our lunch room has been the noisiest it has been for the last two years since we adopted a ban years and it is because kids are talking to each other. It is awesome.
In making this decision we looked at research. We could not find one single piece of research that found that smart phones were an overall benefit to teaching and learning. NOt one. The overwhelming body of research supported the finding that phones are a distraction that hurts student learning and achievement. Even if the phone is off and in the students pocket it is still a major distraction. Same with pouches.
There is an incredible youtube video out there that a teacher made. She recorded her class and had student go to the board and make a tally mark every time their phone went off alert, text, call etc. It is incredible to see.
And for the safety conscious, flooding 911 with calls during an emergency can actually slow the response. We have a crisis app that all teachers have as well as numerous safety features but none are perfect.
=How about =
How about if an tyrannosaurus rex gets loose?
=A change in teaching methods would do more to address the issue of distraction than taking the easy way of banning the symptom.=
Our small district has one golden apple winner and one teacher that was a finalist. These are cutting edge best practice teachers that absolutely amaze me everyday. We are so incredibly lucky to have them. Pre ban they had kids on their phones all the time. I am sure poor teaching practice doesn’t help, but this addiction is so powerful it does not matter. Pur test scores rose last year in the first year of the ban. I am sure the investment in curriculum and professional development was responsible for most of that. I would bet my extravagant pension that the cell phone ban was good for a big piece too.
No to state wide ban. Yes to local bans.
- Suburban Mom - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 12:58 pm:
I would also add, as a data privacy professional who’s thought a lot about kids and phones, two other things we did: We made them sign a cell phone contract outlining their responsibilities and appropriate uses of the phone.
And we don’t location track them, which I encourage you to try. If you have good kids who don’t get in trouble, don’t be their first experience of the permanent surveillance state. If my kid tells me he’s going to the library and then he and his friends give up on their project and go to get ice cream, that seems like appropriate youthful shenanigans that I don’t really need to know about and he doesn’t really need to answer for.
We will use location tracking when they go on a field trip more than an hour away, partly because it helps me know when to go meet the bus when they get back, but we’ll always discuss it with them first, agree on whether it seems helpful/necessary or not, and if we use it, we make a bit of a ceremony of turning location tracking back off.
- Mason County - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 1:14 pm:
I Agree with the Governor.
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 1:22 pm:
==Unpopular with parents and teachers and administrators.==
Unpopular with parents: yes
Unpopular with teachers and admin: probably not
I served on a school board for many years, and this is directly related to something that helicopter parents feel is a necessity - to constantly check on their child throughout the day. The reality is that it is not necessary and is a distraction to the learning process. It also delays student development; no decision can be made without checking in.
The lack of a ban means that many students are constantly distracted by parents, friends, and apps. The opportunity to focus on what is happening in the classroom and even the lunchroom is lost.
If a teacher said “no phones in my classroom” or an admin said no phones in any class” most parents would be fine but a few would be very vocal in their opposition. They would show up at the office and the next board meeting and demand that the ban be lifted. Many admins and boards would capitulate because a few vocal folks can appear to have more support than they actually have and, frankly, the admin and board probably have more pressing issues to deal with.
Self-regulation is difficult for young people; they need guidance and structure to help them focus. Cell phone bans appear to have more positive effects than negative, but the pressures on schools to not have them can make a locally-instituted ban difficult to impose and maintain. The benefit of a well-crafted state mandate is that it takes the pressure off of the teachers, admin, and board.
- Thomas Paine - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 1:30 pm:
=== Unpopular with teachers and admin: probably not ===
Teachers are using the cell phones as a reward for kids who finish their work early and as a distraction that keeps the kids from misbehaving and requires zero effort from the teacher.
And because it makes the teachers happy, it makes the principals happy.
Again, if you do not think your kid should have a cell phone, do not give them a cell phone.
But trust me, kids were getting distracted in class looooong before cell phones were invented.
- harp5339 - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 2:03 pm:
If the nuns wouldn’t allow me to have my Coleco Electronic Quarterback in class these kids should not get to have a pocket computer.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 2:26 pm:
=Unpopular with parents and teachers and administrators.=
Of the emails I received on this issue from parents 80% supported our ban. Just one school.
As for teachers and administrators, I have to respectfully disagree. More and more districts are adopting the bans. In our IASA region I have not heard a single superintendent voice opposition when it was discussed. I think our region encopmpasses 47 districts.
- thechampaignlife - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 3:23 pm:
===no decision can be made without checking in===
Kids are live tweeting their every thought and emotion throughout the day to a parent who stokes that anxiety feedback loop. We need to give kids time to process their experiences - they can give a summary to their parent at the end of the day when all those little worries have faded away and only the major highs and lows remain.
- Shytown - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 3:38 pm:
Every bit of research out there shows that kids and teens having access to smart phones at an early age is detrimental to their overall well-being. Not allowing these things in school seems like a pretty darn good and practical idea. Don’t even know there would even be a debate around this. If most of us back in the day were able to get through school on any given day without our parents being able to get a hold of us directly, the world didn’t stop. They can call the school and get ahold of them. And God forbid there’s a shooting at a school, there are plenty of adults with mobile phones and security systems in place today that will alert authorities. Arguing that having a smart phone will make a kid safer in the event of a tragedy at school is absurd IMO.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 3:39 pm:
Just re reading some of the different comments here and I realized something that I failed to point out. Several suggested that parents, not schools (unless I misunderstood) should be the ones to take the phones and also that students need to learn to self regulate.
I totally agree with those sentiments. Unfortunately though, these things are not happening. Most parents do not seem to have the desire or willingness to make their child unhappy and take the phone. Schools pay the price for that. We are criticized for disciplinary practices, lack of discipline, poor academic performance etc. Phones alone are not responsible for these problems, and there is ample legitimate criticism out there. But phones are a growing problem. IN my estimation this is primarily due to the addictive nature of the social media apps and the availability of games etc. If cell service was still paid by the minute the data charges would probably force parents to act, but that isn’t the case anymore. For those that think I am wrong or exaggerating, sign up to sub or volunteer in a high school and find out for yourself. Sincerely.
- Thomas Paine - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 4:28 pm:
=== More and more districts are adopting the bans. In our IASA region I have not heard a single superintendent voice opposition when it was discussed. I think our region encopmpasses 47 districts. ===
If the bans are so popular and school districts can implement them, I do not understand why you think we need a statewide law.
I am not saying Pritzker is walking in Gov. Newsom’s footsteps, I am just saying that California enacted a similar law recently and its not exactly going great. Nor is there any evidence its having a dramatic impact:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-02/why-california-schools-are-struggling-to-enforce-cellphone-ban
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 4:43 pm:
I solved this problem by not buying my kids a smart phone until they were in HS. The HS doesn’t allow them to be used in class, and also utilizes jamming systems in classrooms. Of course, kids are pretty smart, so they’ve figured out how to get past the jamming.
My kids hated me for making them wait long after their friends all had phones. But other parents have told me they wish they did the same with their own kids because they see how phones steal the attention from their kids.
Before they got smart phones, we did get them Apple watches, mostly so we could track their movements after school, but also, they can text or call us if there was an emergency. My advice to parents is, wait as long as you possibly can before giving in and getting them a smart phone.
To the proposal, I love the idea but think it should be up to school districts or individual school policy.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 6:25 pm:
= If the bans are so popular and school districts can implement them, I do not understand why you think we need a statewide law.=
The last line of my first comment…
=No to state wide ban. Yes to local bans.=
You may want to go back and give my comments a read.
I read that LA Times Article as well. As I mentioned, we are small so it is much easier for us to manage our students and enforce a ban. It has worked out well for us and we had positive results quickly. A large school, especially a high school will be a challenge for many reasons. They need to make their own choices. I think it is a hill worth climbing, but I wouldn’t force that on anyone else.
- Joe - Thursday, Feb 20, 25 @ 10:56 pm:
Agree with one brief very early comment - I’m surprised no one has mentioned - why not just let local School Boards decide, as they can do now?