SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – A state-level push to take cell phones out of the hands of students during the school day is now one step closer to becoming a reality.
There are three things that State Senator John Velis wants parents to consider: mental health, social development, and academic performance. Those are the three main factors that are being deterred by cell phone usage during school hours and it’s just hard for parents to figure out where exactly to draw the line. “No distractions, that’s my opinion,” said Johnny Allen of Belchertown. “I will say it’s a terrible distraction for the teachers.”
Distraction was the word of the day Friday for parents, residents, and even Velis, all of whom are pushing for a bell-to-bell cell phone ban in schools in the Bay State. “I don’t think you can say it with a straight face that there’s no correlation between that distraction and how we’ve seen a decline in the grades,” Velis added.
Velis is spearheading the legislation for the potential phone ban, which now one step closer after the State Senate voted 38-2 in favor of it. “I think the data, I think the evidence, I think the communities that have done this show it’s overwhelming that these devices hurt our kids. They prevent learning from happening,” he explained.
Residents we spoke with both on- and off-camera shared that, while they are in favor of the bill, it’s still a fine line for certain scenarios. Some are concerned, specifically, for an emergency situation where the students wouldn’t be able to reach their parents. “They’ve got to find some sort of middle ground that keeps the child, the students safe, and the parent serene about what’s going on,” said one person, who wished to remain anonymous.
Velis combatted that argument by writing into the legislation that districts must come up with some sort of emergency plan, which can vary from town to town. However, Velis emphasized that the issue must be solved statewide because of how many disparities there are in the current policies. “The policy that works, that’s been shown to work is a bell-to-bell ban,” he noted. He also discussed how beneficial the move would be for teacher. “We cannot give our teachers who do so much, something else to their job description, which is being phone police,” he said.
However, the bottom line for the bill is aimed at helping students. “If we can’t care about the mental health of our young kids, what are we doing?” Velis said.
Parents shouldn’t rejoice just yet as that bill still has a ways to go. It must pass through the State House of Representatives and then be signed by Governor Healey, who has been an advocate for a full ban on cell phones in schools thus far.
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