Cell Phone, Personal Device Use Noted As a Major Distraction by Teachers

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JACKSON, Miss.–If your kids have cell phones or devices they take to school, you should be aware that the state legislature is under some pressure to take action on curtailing their use. That may be considered during the upcoming legislative session in January.
“In the last week or two we had a teacher in our area who resigned because she said she was tired of looking out at her classroom and seeing no eyes and seeing a lot of people looking down continually,” said state Sen. David Parker, a Republican from DeSoto County, during a meeting of the Senate Education Committee last week.
During that meeting, legislators heard a presentation from the Mississippi Dept. of Education that features a teacher survey. In that survey, teachers cited cell phone and device usage as one of the main distractions making their jobs tougher.
Parker noted that some districts and schools have decided to do nothing about cell phone usage
“I think local control is what we need to have on it, with the guideline that that local control needs to involve ensuring this or that.
He said he feels that the state should have a guiding policy rather than making laws that local boards are required to follow.
State Sen. Brice Wiggins, a Republican from Pascagoula, questioned whether legislators should make the decision to ban or curtail cell phones.
“Is there anything right now that prevents local school boards from either prohibiting or limiting personal devices?” he asked.
Dr. Lance Evans, state Superintendent of Education, said that decisions have been made by some boards, but varies by district.
“You could walk into a local board meeting at X school district and they could say that no cell phone could be on the property or they had to be in the backpack or whatever,” he said. “I wouldn’t have an answer as to why it’s not happening everywhere. I think it more so is gonna be in line with the culture of the district and what they want to have happen because they do govern themselves.”
Teachers have also expressed dissatisfaction, as noted in the same survey, with too many classroom interruptions, not enough time off and not enough pay, as other factors making their jobs tougher.
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