CLEVELAND — As students wrap up the school year, these could be the last few weeks they’ll be allowed to have cellphones with them during class. Over the summer break, many districts will be looking at banning cellphones in some way.
We sat down with Governor Mike DeWine to talk about how this is likely going to become a law.
Any day now, House Bill 250 will get to Governor DeWine’s desk. We’ve been following the legislation which would require every school district to have a policy in place by next school year, that would limit or ban cell phones in class.
And this isn't just happening in Ohio. It's something nearly every state is prioritizing.
We found parents with mixed opinions on the matter.
Oksana Yakymchuk believes in restrictions, but not a daylong ban.
“I would say yes to cell phones in school. Maybe they should be limited during some period of time.
It's a hot topic among parents, teachers and administrators... Should our kids be allowed to have cell phones in schools?
Parent Shayla Doran says no. She's in favor of a ban.
"I actually feel that that's a great idea because it actually takes away from the kids' education. We didn't have it when we were kids. And I think that it will, you know, bring down violence, less social media and like just the world will be a better place, you know, without your cell phones."
Tevin Harris believes in different limitations based on age.
I feel like teenagers should have their phones in school due to safety reasons, but I also feel like middle aged kids, as far as my son, like 10 and nine, shouldn't have their phones in school because it's a big distraction."
A recent study from Common Sense Media found that every student surveyed said they used their smartphone an average of 43 minutes during the school day. Students reported an average of 59 notification on their phones while at school. And they said policies about cellphone use in their classrooms weren't consistently enforced.
"I talk to teachers and they tell me that uh when their cell phones even near the student it's a real distraction."
Governor Mike DeWine is making it a priority to pass legislation cracking down on cell phone use.
"Well, there's been several bills that have been introduced. The one bill, candidly, I think has the most chance of passing the legislation, would leave it up to the individual school and I'm fine with that. But what it would require is that the school actually have a policy that they go through the decision-making process and they communicate that to parents."
Ohio is not alone in considering this law.
Last year, Florida became the first state to legally require public schools to ban cellphone use during class time and block access to social media on their Wi-Fi.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb also just signed a bill banning cellphone use in classrooms for the fall.
California, Oklahoma, Vermont, Utah, Tennessee and Kansas have legislation in the works to also ban phones during instruction time.
We asked Governor DeWine if he had talked to any of the other governors in those states about what's on the table and what should be proposed.
"I think all of us, all of the governors are certainly looking at this," he said before mentioning advice given to him by an educator long ago. It still holds up today.
"I remember what our high school principal once told us many many years ago long, long before cell phones and that is he said "look if there's something in the school that's interfering with you learning he says we're going to be concerned about it he says if it doesn't interfere with we're not going to be that concerned about it."
At this point a growing number of schools have already put a policy in place that limits cellphone use. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 77% of U.S. schools already do.
But does it work?
Tomorrow we take an in-depth look at what our local schools are doing, including some surprising results out of Akron, after their first year of a strict policy.