Over half of adults in the U.S. support a cell phone ban during classes for middle and high schoolers, according to a recent national survey released by the Pew Research Center.
According to the survey, conducted between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6 of this year, 68 percent of respondents indicated that they support a ban on cell phones, including 45 percent of respondents who indicated that they would strongly support this motion.
About one-third, 36 percent, support banning middle and high school students from using cell phones during the entire school day, including at lunch as well as during and between classes. By comparison, 53 percent oppose this more restrictive stance.
Some discourse has been sourced from students having no access to cell phones when it comes to safety in schools, specifically among parents, but this poll presented differing numbers.
For example, 65 percent of parents with a school-aged child support banning students from using their cell phones during class. This compares with 69 percent of adults without children in these grades who also support banning phones in class. Identical shares of these groups support a ban for the entire school day, 36 percent.
Parents of school-aged children only differed slightly on their reasoning behind a ban than adults without children did when discussing how phones in the classroom can lead to bullying via text or social media.
Among those who support a cell phone ban in classrooms, 44 percent of parents say a major reason they favor it is that it would reduce bullying in schools, compared with 37 percent of those who are not parents who claimed this was a major reason for them as well.
The most widely accepted idea in the poll is that a cell phone ban would decrease distractions in the classroom, a total of 91 percent of those who support the ban call this a major reason. Alabama educators and lawmakers have been echoing this idea for the past couple of years.
Earlier this year, the Alabama State Board of Education adopted a resolution encouraging local school districts to adopt their own policies banning cell phone use during school hours. There is currently no statewide policy to ban cell phone use in classrooms.
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey has maintained a staunch attitude towards getting phones out of the classroom for the betterment of students in all ways.
“We know the research is very clear, that when you take cell phones out of the school, discipline problems go down, grades go up,” said Mackey. “So, I think the data are very clear, they support what we are talking about doing, and I just strongly believe that we need to get these cell phones out of our classrooms, whether that’s through local school boards or the legislature, I would encourage them to move in that direction.”
