With the school year starting, controversy over the cell phone ban has risen. Why do schools take away their students' phones? Why is everyone so upset over the ban? Most importantly, is this cell phone ban unfair to students because of our teachers?
According to EducationWeek, there are twelve states in the United States that have enacted a ban on the use of cell phones in the classroom. Ohio, Virginia, Minnesota, and Indiana are the four states that require the policy in classrooms. Other states such as Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina have statewide restrictions on cells. Other states have policy recommendations and a few others have an incentive on the policy. In total, only 12 states in the United States have put a cell phone ban in school districts in their law.
There is no coherent difference between the “policy requirement” that Ohio and other midwestern states have and the “statewide restriction” that some states in the south have. They are essentially the same thing, just titled differently. They both require restrictions on cell phone use in the classroom. The only minute difference between the two is that the southern states that have a statewide restriction are a bit more lenient on cell phone use. Students are able to use cell phones in certain areas of school buildings if it is important for school. Nowhere in Ohio or other midwestern states is that leniency stated.
The states that “incentivize” the policy and “recommend” it are more or less ideal. These states include Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Arkansas, and Alabama. Again, there is no noticeable difference in their policy restricting cell phones in these states. They both strongly encourage (but do not require) schools to enact restrictions on cell phone use in classrooms. The minuscule difference in these policies is that states that incentivize the cell phone ban are willing to pay schools for things like phone pockets that go on walls. States that recommend the ban do not.
It is worth noting that all of the states listed that have enacted a cell phone ban in schools are on the eastern side of the United States. Any state west of Minnesota has not put a cell phone ban into action. Is the Eastern side of the country stricter on high school students? Does this side have higher academic standards which therefore explains why cell phones are not allowed in the classroom?
According to Denise-Marie Ordway of Journalist’s Resource, school districts and school board members do not have a say in what state law demands. Even if principals, students, and other administrators disagree with policies, like the cell phone ban, there is no way they can change it.
While we can all agree that the new cell phone policy is bothersome and irritating, we cannot argue that it is unfair because of our teachers. They are simply following the rules they have been instructed to follow, so if we believe the ban is unfair, blaming our teachers is not the solution.
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