Powerful Senator Wants Cell Phones Banned in Massachusetts Schools

The powerful president of the Massachusetts State Senate is the latest to lend her voice to a growing movement that seeks to silence student cell phones in public school classrooms.

Sen. Karen Spilka said there is evidence that cell phone usage during school hours is "detrimental."

Spilka is not alone in her concern about cellphone use in the classroom.

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I recently reported that Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell released a "Cellphones and Social Media in Schools Toolkit" in February to help local school districts regulate student cell phone use. Campbell prefers a "bell-to-bell" restriction on cellphones and other personal devices during school hours.

Many school districts, including several in our area, have policies about cell phone usage during school hours.

Sen. Spilka recently floated the idea of removing cell phones from the classroom while addressing business leaders in Boston. Spilka credits her son, a public school teacher, with inspiring her to address the issue.

Spilka told the gathering, "There is mounting evidence that cellphone usage among students during the school day is detrimental for a number of reasons, from simple distraction to more worrying issues such as cheating and cyberbullying," according to State House News Service.

"At least 18 states already have laws that restrict cellphone use in school," SHNS reported.

Spilka said, "In Massachusetts, our schools should be a truly safe space where kids can grow, learn, make mistakes, and develop healthy relationships, and so making schools cell phone-free should be as fundamental to our understanding of what helps a child learn as providing school meals and access to social and emotional learning resources."