The State Board of Education will discuss the issue of cellphones in schools during a planning meeting in December. State Superintendent Catherine Truitt urged the board on Thursday to use the upcoming planning session to tell state lawmakers not to pass a statewide ban.
“I think an ideal outcome for this issue as it pertains to the planning and work session would be to make recommendations that will encourage the General Assembly not to pass a statewide ban on cellphones,” Truitt said. “There is bipartisan support for a statewide ban on cellphones.
“This is not an R (Republican) or D (Democratic) issue, but I just don’t believe that is the best pathway forward.”
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Raleigh Democrat, and Sen. Jim Burgin, a Harnett County Republican, have co-sponsored bills asking the state to study cellphone use in schools. Both senators have been invited to attend next month’s state board planning meeting.
“Sen. Burgin and I continue to consult with stakeholders on how to move forward,” Chaudhuri said in an interview Thursday. “Regardless of our approach, we believe that the state needs to do more to address the use of cellphones by students in our classrooms.”
IS A SCHOOL CELLPHONE BAN ENFORCEABLE?
Truitt said it would not be practical for the state board or the state Department of Public Instruction to enforce a statewide ban. She said a statewide ban would be difficult even for district superintendents to enforce because “it is such a local on-the-ground issue.”
At least 18 states have passed laws or enacted policies that ban or restrict students’ use of cellphones in schools statewide or recommend local districts enact their own bans or restrictive policies, according to an Education Week analysis.
Truitt’s term expires at the end of the year. She lost in the Republican primary to Michele Morrow.
Democrat Mo Green defeated Morrow in this week’s election to become the new state superintendent of public instruction. He starts his new job in January.
“The issue of cell phones in schools requires deep consideration,” Green said in a statement Thursday. “I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with the State Board of Education, the General Assembly, educators, parents, students and others so that we can develop an appropriate and effective policy to address this issue.”
DO PARENTS SUPPORT CELLPHONE BANS?
Truitt acknowledged that phones are causing problems at school.
Truitt attended a September event that looked at phone use in schools and was co-hosted by Burgin, Chaudhuri and N.C. State University’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation. One of the takeaways was that the misuse of phones in schools can hinder learning and contribute to social disconnection and distraction.
But at the same time, Truitt pointed to surveys showing the majority of parents feel students should be able to have access to a cellphone in school. Truitt said she probably texts her son at least once a day.
“In general, parents are not in favor of cellphone bans,” Truitt told the state board.
But Truitt said parents can see allowing schools to restrict phone access in class. She pointed to how some schools have purchased equipment such as holders where students can store their phone while they’re in class.
STRATEGIES FOR LIMITING CELLPHONE USE
The goal, Truitt said, is to find a solution that doesn’t harm students while also recognizing that the technology isn’t going away.
“When you ban things, you create camps,” Truitt said. “You create two camps. You create people who are for and people who are against.
“But if we can come up with sensible policies by working together ... perhaps we can avoid people having to choose sides.”
Chaudhuri said national experts and education-based organizations at the September conference laid out a number of different options the state can use to address the problem of student cellphone use.
“Those options range from providing guidance in restricting cellphone use during classroom time to an absolute ban of cellphones during the school hours to establishing incentives to get local school districts to do more with regard to restricting student cellphone use,” Chaudhuri said.
STUDENTS' VIEW ON CELLPHONES IN SCHOOL
Ian House, a student advisor to the state board, told Truitt that whatever solution is developed has to be sustainable.
House, a student at Green Hope High School in Cary, said cellphone use in class has become a “huge problem.” He said phones take away from collaboration among students and are distracting some students from doing their school work.
Having phones in class can also be “a vehicle for obnoxious behavior,” according to House.
“I know of incidents in my school where students are filming teachers, posting it on TikTok or Instagram,” House told the board. ‘(It’s) a violation of privacy.”
Wake County school administrators plan to conduct a district-wide survey and meet with focus groups before recommending updates to the district’s cellphone policy for the 2025-26 school year.
In Wake County, the decision to allow phone access for students is currently left up to principals. That means there are a wide range of policies across the district and even internally in some schools.
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