From student behavior to mental health, the list of contributing factors driving poor student behavior seems to be growing. While the pandemic exacerbated these issues, there’s one common conductor that school administrators are split on finding ways to mitigate its risk, and that’s cell phones.
With the school year nearly under wraps, leaders are taking lessons learned throughout the year surrounding student behavior and incorporating new policies in the last weeks of school. Most recently, districts have enacted cell phone bans with hopes of mitigating one primary student-centered problem: misbehavior.
In April, Brevard County Public Schools in Florida said it’s use in the classroom.
“We’re basically giving the control back to the teachers and the principal inside those classrooms so those kids can learn rather than sitting on their phones,” Brevard Public Schools Board Member Matt Susin told.油
Susin added that the district’s previous policy simply wasn’t being enforced.
“Some schools were. Some schools weren’t,” he said. “So, the strict enforcement of the policy is the beginning.”
Certain cell phone use is allowed, however, such as students who use their devices for diabetes management and parents who require their child’s phone to be turned on for location tracking because that’s not where the issue lies, according to Susin.
“We had reports coming out of our schools where they were saying that these kids were sitting there and telling our teachers, ‘Hey, I’m watching the World Cup. Leave me alone.’ That can’t be anymore.”
One district revealed its new policies ahead of the school year with hopes to have them finalized this summer. Cleveland County Schools in North Carolina is looking to add a new code of conduct for students to eliminate all cell phone distractions. It would apply to students of all grades from elementary through high school, 安遺鰻遺油.
Under the policy, students would not be allowed to use their phones during the school days. Punishment would vary based on whether the phone was actively being used or if it created a disruption.
Students would also receive punishments on a multiple-offense basis. First offenders would receive up to one day of suspension from school. Further offenses would warrant more serious consequences.
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Other districts are having similar issues regulating cell phone use. In Wisconsin, West Allis-West Milwaukee School District has been . 91心頭istrators say it’s a result of increased fights among students. What adds to this issue is the number of students recording these fights on their phones.
The board voted to suspend any student seen recording and sharing fights.
“It’s not so much that we’re trying to hide fights,” Superintendent Marty Lexmond toldCBS 58. “Everybody knows we’re struggling with fights in school. What we’re trying to do is minimize the disruption to the learning environment.”
