When Tennessee students head back to the classroom, a new law aims to ensure they won’t bring their cell phones with them, or at least have them in sight.
House Bill 932, passed in March, prohibits students from using cell phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming devices.
Bradley County and Cleveland City Schools shared how they will enforce the new law on Thursday.
Both districts will ban devices from bell to bell, asking students to turn their devices off and keep them out of sight. The school systems said they hope the policy helps reduce distractions, improve digital safety, decrease cyberbullying, and boost face-to-face interactions. They will also continue to communicate with families district-wide in case of emergency.
“I am totally ok with it,“ said Jessica Mills, who has children in middle and high school. “The more focus that the kids have in school, and if that’s cutting cell phones out in school, I think for sure.”
However, other parents like Desiree Wells worry about reaching their children, even if just checking in for a few minutes.
“My child is younger so she doesn’t have a phone as of yet, but as a parent and knowing that that’s probably what she’s going to have to go into when she gets older, it’s kind of hard to hear because there may be certain things that I’d like them to have access to their phone for, even for just a few minutes throughout the day,“ Wells said. “Not so much checking social media or anything like that, just because there are certain things that happen that maybe the school isn’t quick to respond to, or even a teacher isn’t quick to respond since they’re teaching, so they’re not able to check the phones right away.”
Wells said she wouldn’t mind if schools revised the policy to allow students a few minutes to check their phones, but added that she agrees with keeping phones out of instructional time. Bradley County Schools does a good job of communicating currently with families, Wells said.
Cleveland City Schools said it will allow principals to determine school-specific policies, while Bradley County outlined consequences for students who violate the rules.
For a student’s first violation, the school will call home and hold onto the device for the remainder of the day. However, the school can hold the phone for seven calendar days the second time, or a parent can retrieve it for a $50 fine. The third time, schools can confiscate the phone for 15 days or accept a $100 fine to pick it up early.
Bradley County identifies the prohibited devices as cell phones, tablets, MP3 players, and earbuds, while Cleveland City schools add smartwatches to the list.
The state law officially bans cell phones during instructional time, though local districts have gone bell to bell.
Under state law, there are the following exceptions:
- When authorized by a teacher
- To manage the student’s health, as documented in the student’s healthcare plan
- When the possession or use is required by the student’s individual education program, 504 plan, 16 or individual learning plan
- When the device is being used by a student with a disability for the operation of assistive 19 technology to increase, maintain, or improve the student’s functional capabilities
Hamilton County Schools has similarly discussed its policy on devices to comply with state law, according to a draft policy shared in a previous school board agenda. The district has not yet announced official plans.
Local 3 contacted both school districts for additional clarification on the new policies and how they’ll be enforced, but we have not yet heard back. Offices for Cleveland City Schools are closed on Fridays in the summer.
