Governor Bill Lee on Friday signed into law legislation that will require Tennessee school districts to adopt policies that prohibit student cell phone use in classrooms, with limited exceptions, after an amended version of the bill was passed unanimously in the State House and without opposition in the State Senate.
The legislation, initially proposed by State Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) and State Representative Rebecca Alexander (R-Jonesborough) in February, would require school districts to implement policies forbidding the use of cell phones by students during class, unless teachers make specific arrangements for he devices to be used educationally.
It would also allow exceptions for students who depend on the use of their phones to manage their health, or if they require the use of their phone due to a disability, as part of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), Individualized Learning Plan (IL), or similar special arrangement with school officials.
School districts must additionally authorize students to use their cell phones during emergencies, but are nonetheless authorized to improve their procedures to notify parents about such events due to the more stringent policies.
The amended version of the legislation that ultimately made it to the governor contained provisions expanding exceptions to students with disabilities or special education plans.
This amended version passed in the State Senate on March 6 with 30 votes in favor, no votes in opposition, and only State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) voting present. It passed unanimously in the State Senate on March 13.
Some Tennessee Counties have already instituted policies restricting student cell phone use prior to the legislation, including in Hamblen County, where Superintendent Arnold Bunch reported success to the House Education Committee earlier this year.
“Personal communication devices were undermining safety and negatively impacting the learning environment in Hamblen County Schools,” said Bunch in January. “We experienced drug deals that were orchestrated on phones, threats of mass violence, bullying, cheating, framing of other students, filming of and then sharing fights within our schools, sharing of inappropriate images of underage students and overall distractions in the classrooms.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
It is about time!