A new Texas state law, House Bill 1481, regarding the ban of accessing phones during school hours, has gained much traction in Texas. The bill passed through the house by a 136-10 vote and has been passed by the Senate.
There is a division between how teachers and administrators view the ban on phones compared to how students perceive it. The teachers feel as though this ban will help increase the productivity of their students; they argue that banning phones in school will force students to fully engage with their schoolwork, hoping that students will end up performing better academically.
“Without phones being present, it would help remove distractions, forcing students to actually learn,” counselor Jill Harney said.
Another common usage of phones is to help students with schoolwork. This can often disrupt a student’s academic performance as an addition to distractions.
“I believe the ban is necessary as often times phones promote cheating and academic dishonesty, for example, a group of students took a test for another teacher before I handed it out and the class average was in the low 70s, when my class took it, it was in the low 90s,” biology and chemistry teacher James Gay said.
A common argument from the opposing side is the parents’ need to contact their students in case of an emergency. Despite the distractions, parents believe phones are crucial in emergency situations. Schools can’t always guarantee immediate communication and having a phone could be life-saving. Though this is true in some cases, relying on phones often creates confusion as misinformation can be spread which can overwhelm emergency responders.
“I believe the phone ban can be bad, as we don’t have any way to communicate with my family and friends,” sophomore Shawn Edwards said.
The bill is set to be put into effect at the beginning of the next school year. The goal of the bill is to boost academic focus by reducing distractions. Eight states have passed similar laws in the past 2 years. This would likely affect students, due to the various hours most students spend on their phones daily.
