While smartphones have become a widely used and versatile tool, some believe their presence in the classroom has gone unchecked for too long.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Cellphone use in schools will likely look different this year after Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1481 into law.
The new law will ban cellphone usage on all K–12 campuses across Texas, including here in the Coastal Bend. That means school districts must now create their own rules and plans for when, if ever, phones are allowed during the school day.
While smartphones have become a widely used and versatile tool, some believe their presence in the classroom has gone unchecked for too long.
Corpus Christi parent Porter DeVries talked about the firm guideline she uses with her three children about when they’re allowed to have a phone.
“Smartphones are not going to be allowed,” Devries said. “We follow the wait till eighth rule.”
Her children won’t have their own devices until they reach high school.
DeVries strongly supports the passage of House Bill 1481, saying it helps teach children the hard but necessary lesson of logging off.
“You see a cell phone out, there’s disciplinary actions, it’s clear,” she said.
Students, parents and teachers can expect the new law to be in effect for the upcoming school year. However, districts are still in the process of creating specific rules on cellphone use. Flour Bluff, Taft, and Gregory-Portland are among the districts already drafting plans before kids head back to class.
Katie Parker, a fifth-grade teacher at CCISD’s Travis Elementary School, said while her campus has always had a clear cellphone policy, the statewide ban adds more clarity.
“Most of the time they’ve always been turned into teachers,” she said.
Parker added that because of the growing influence of social media, the ban could prevent harmful or disruptive content from being posted online in the first place.
“If they don’t have anything in place it’s going to be harder for students to transition,” Parker said. “They’re used to having their cell phones on them. The attention would be on academics versus social media or taking pictures, things like that.”
As a mom herself, Parker understands the instinct to want to stay connected to your child. But she said in some emergency situations, phones could actually cause more harm than good.
“Say we’re on a lockdown of some sort,” Paker said. “If a child has their phone and it is going off, then you’re putting everyone in danger.”
Both DeVries and Parker said parents should talk to their children at home about cellphone use—so there are clear expectations both in and outside the classroom.
