Lyons Township High Backs Phone Mandate
LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School board members said this week they want a state law mandating schools to ban the use of phones during class time.
Later this month, members of the state school boards association plan to vote on a resolution that supports a state law.
Many schools require students to put their phones in pouches in the front of the room, so they cannot use them during class. Students get to use their devices at lunch and between periods.
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At this week’s board meeting, member Jill Beda Daniels favored a state mandate.
“That would take the pressure off of us to do that because I think that’s such a heated topic,” she said.
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Paula Struwing, who teaches in another district, said a law would be stronger than a local policy.
With a mere policy, she said, “a parent very easily can just lawyer up, come in and say my kid is not submitting their phone, and they win. This (law) might give support back to the schools to say we’re not trying to take them away. We’re just trying to get back to the learning process.”
Member Tim Albores, who is a school administrator in another district, pointed to research showing that phones hurt students’ learning and mental health. He said opponents of phone mandates often say they want their children to have their phones on them at all times in case of an emergency.
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But he noted that everyone using their phones during an emergency can overload networks and interfere with first responders’ communications.
“I argued with my kids and my wife about this. We don’t need you calling. I need you safe,” Albores said.
Struwing agreed, saying that students are often not near the problem and end up spreading false information.
She said most schools have a “community of parents who feel entitled to the information when you’re not entitled to that information.”
“We don’t need to explain to you what happened. Our general public doesn’t seem to understand that,” Struwing said.
Member Michael Thomas was the only member who opposed a state mandate.
“I think we can make those mandates ourselves locally, but we don’t choose to,” he said. “I think it’s best left for a local decision, not a state mandate.”
The board directed Daniels, who is the board’s liaison to the state association, to vote in favor of the proposed mandate.
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