Throughout the lunch period at Cienega High School in Vail, students used their cell phones to make calls and texts and check social media apps.
However, next school year, Senate bill 2484, which was signed into law by Governor Katie Hobbs this week, is going to ban use of cell phones during school.
This comes after she vetoed a similar bill last year. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne criticized her and advocated for the bill.
Kaydence Stutzman is a senior at the school and said she mostly approves of the bill, but said it should have more exceptions.
“It could create a lot more involvement in the classroom. People can stay more engaged, pay more attention to the teacher,” Stutzman said. “During spirit week, we want to take pictures and post on social media, and we can’t really do that if we don’t have our phones.”
The bill does have exceptions for educational purposes, for students with medical conditions and emergencies.
“That piece is a good piece because at the end of the day when something bad happens parents want to know where their kiddos are,” Kate Middleton, the school’s principal, said.
Next school year Middleton said they already had plans to ban cell phones and 87% of teachers already do.
She was inspired by the book “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, a book that talks about kids’ brain development and how it is influenced by social media. It also talks about mental health issues like anxiety and depression in relation to using cell phones and consuming social media.
“It’s a good idea to begin to put some constraints around young people using a tool that is marketing to them and changing their physical habits,” Middleton said.
Under the bill which will become a law soon, each school district’s governing board is going to have to come up with internet and social media restrictions.
However, Stutzman is questioning that and said she sometimes needs to use her phone to look up things that her Chromebook cannot because the school put restrictions on it.
“In old literature, they might mean something completely different than they do now, and so it might be harder to find a good definition on our Chromebooks with lots of restrictions,” she said.
Desiree Rojas is a Spanish teacher at the school who has banned cell phones in her classroom for years.
“I have their full attention and I have their focus. They’re more engaged on the material itself,” Rojas said.
SB2484 says at the beginning of each school year, the school district needs to give parents, teachers, and students a copy of their policies.
Stutzman feels like the bill will be a good tool to help students pay more attention to their teachers.
“Teachers can overall feel more respected because the kid’s attention isn’t elsewhere,” she said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
