Broward schools to keep cellphone ban
Sun Sentinel | By Scott Travis |
The Broward schools’ student cellphone ban could be here to stay.
The School Board discussed on Tuesday whether to relax a policy that took effect this school year that prohibits most cellphone use by students from the morning bell until dismissal. Board members were split, but a majority opposed changing the policy, at least right now.
State law already bans students from using cellphones during class unless authorized by their teacher. But Broward’s policy goes beyond that, prohibiting the devices during lunch, class changes and study halls. The Broward policy does allow cellphones to be used for academic purposes at the direction of a teacher as well as during emergencies.
Surveys have suggested students overwhelmingly oppose the policy, teachers generally like it, and parents are more mixed. About 50% of parents in a recent survey said they opposed banning cellphones during lunch, while a third supported it, and the rest were unsure.
Citing the survey, School Board member Jeff Holness suggested allowing students to use cellphones during the first 15 minutes of lunch.
“I believe that when parents collectively show a level of resistance to a policy or parts of a policy, it warrants us to carefully consider a more balanced approach,” Holness said.
Board members Debbi Hixon and Rebecca Thompson voiced support for fewer restrictions.
Hixon said the lunch cellphone ban should be lifted. She said it’s too difficult for administrators to enforce this.
“The principals will be the first ones to tell you, ‘Listen, I just don’t have the manpower. I’m not watching them at lunch,’” Hixon said. “So, I personally would like to see it removed completely unless state statute makes us include it, because we have a policy we know we can’t follow, and that drives me insane.”
But several other board members strongly disagreed, saying research has shown that smartphones have led to decreased attention span and increased anxiety for students.
Board member Sarah Leonardi said she’s gotten positive feedback as she’s visited schools.
“I would counter the statement that we’re not enforcing it during lunch now,” Leonardi said. “That’s just not true. I think some schools may not be, and that’s something that we need to address. But I’ve visited schools during lunch, been in cafeterias, been in the hallways at the high school level where it is being enforced.”
Board member Allen Zeman said he’s hearing good feedback from parents.
“It’s an effective policy that works,” he told the board. “We are hearing from families that at nighttime their engagement with their children is different because their children have learned that they don’t have to have their phone on for six or seven hours during the school day. That effect is incredibly meaningful.”
Board members Lori Alhadeff, Maura Bulman and Nora Rupert also opposed changing the policy, while Board member Brend Fam was absent.
Alhadeff said she wanted to see whether the state passes any new laws before reconsidering the policy. A bill in the House of Representatives would impose statewide the same cellphone ban that Broward is using. The Senate hasn’t proposed the same restriction, although it has a bill that would study the effects of the bans in Broward and five other counties that have similar restrictions.
Superintendent Howard Hepburn said Florida Atlantic University is also conducting research on how well the cellphone policy works. He said he supports the ban but acknowledged it’s been challenging for many students.
Cellphones are “an appendage of many of our students,” Hepburn said. “It’s not an easy task to transition many of our kids from cellphone use to not utilizing it during the school days. So the ebbs and flows in implementing the policy are real, but we’ll get better year after year.”
