KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) – Public school districts are now required to enforce a personal device ban for students during school hours.
Gov. Abbott signed HB 1481 into law on Sunday. It requires school district policy to either ban personal devices from campuses entirely or mandate students to lock them away. The law also mandates that districts apply disciplinary action to violators, including the confiscation of devices.
“We see cellphone use as a hindrance,” State Rep. Hillary Hickland, who voted for the bill, said.
Hickland emphasized the importance of education in the latest legislative session.
“A big thing that we heard from our public schools is just what a distraction cell phone use is in the classroom,” Hickland said.
Killeen ISD already requires students to lock their cell phones in a Yondr Pouch each morning. KISD’s Student Support Services Executive Director, Micah Wells, said implementing the new policy over the past school year has presented some challenges.
“Getting the kids to understand the ‘why’ and the expectations for what we’re doing,” Wells said. “And setting up routines on a daily basis. It can be the same, so every day they show up, they know exactly what to do.”
For some parents, including Hickland, not being able to communicate with their children at school is a concern.
“That is the biggest concern,”Hickland said. “For me as a parent I want access to my children.”
But Hickland is confident school districts will overcome the obstacles and concerns.
“It will be an adjustment,” Hickland said. “But I think overall having consistency across districts and even within districts will be a benefit.”
She hopes the law will improve all aspects of public schools.
“We’ll see calmer classrooms,” Hickland said. “We’ll see more focused students. We’ll see teachers who don’t have to be cellphone police constantly. Hopefully, we’ll see fewer behavioral issues.”
Districts have 90 days to create and implement policies banning students from using personal devices during school hours.
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