BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana has joined a growing number of states now cracking down on student cellphone use.
Until now, cellphone rules have varied from school to school and in many cases from classroom to classroom.
Louisiana lawmakers are now requiring a uniform policy across the state.
A new law by Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, bans cell phones in the classroom.
When Mizell presented the bill on the Senate floor in April, she called it a rare situation that is good for both students and teachers.
“Teachers and workforce groups say this is the biggest distraction they’re fighting against in the classroom,” Mizell said.
The law now requires public school students to turn off and stow away their cell phones during instructional time.
Not everyone agrees with the ban.
“I don’t think taking phones away from the student until the end of the day is good,” said Lashawn Robinson who is the mother of a high school student. “I don’t think it is because what if the parent is trying to text them and let them know that someone is going to pick them up from school.”
Metairie resident Austin Teague said the ban is a good idea.
“I think personally that limiting the number of distractions in the classroom can never hurt. I think ultimately the more time that students spend engaged with their educators the higher the chance of them retaining that information.
High School student Giannah Ceasar said, “We’re probably going to need our phones to call our parents in case an emergency happens or in case something bad happens, we’re going to need to call our parents on our phone.
The new cellphone law takes effect in the upcoming school year.
The ban would not apply to students who require such devices for health reasons such as a diabetes monitor.
The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is now in the process of writing a new student cellphone policy based on the new law. Board members are expected to discuss the matter at their August meeting.
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