The Indiana Senate unanimously passed a bill proposing the restriction of cell phone use in classrooms. While it still does need approval from the House in order to pass, Senate Bill 185 falls in line with Governor Eric Holcomb’s agenda of creating a more focused learning environment for students.
Each school corporation in Indiana will be required to “adopt and implement a wireless communication device policy that governs student use of a wireless communication device.”
According to the bill, phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming devices would not be allowed to be used during instructional time unless the teacher approved of it. The only exceptions would be in the case of an emergency or if a student needs to manage their health care through a device.
Senator Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond), the author of the bill, believes it will tremendously help the state of Indiana and its K-12 education. “There’s all kinds of data out there that show that [these devices are] distractive to learning, and as we try to increase outcomes in the state, this is one way I believe that we can accomplish that,” Raatz said.
This bill’s aim is to have school corporations create a bare minimum ruling on device use. The school corporations can go further with their own specific policies.
While the Senate believes that getting rid of phones within classrooms will lead to better opportunities for students in school, there are some students that believe that this will be detrimental to the school environment.
Junior McKenzie Poer believes that getting rid of phone use will lead to less motivation, and make students feel disconnected. Further, students will not have any way to cope with stressful situations.
“I feel like it will make kids less motivated in class and maybe even less connected,” Poer said. “We do a lot of communication over the phone, and taking that away will make kids feel disconnected and alone. For a lot kids their phone is necessary to listen to music or keep themselves calmed in a stressful environment, taking that away could make kids isolate themselves further.”