Broward County School Board unanimously passes ban on cellphone use in schools
By Owen Girard
The Broward County School Board unanimously passed a near-total ban of cellphone use amongst all students in the district.
The proposal, which was voted on during the board’s Tuesday meeting, will go into effect at the beginning of the upcoming school year.
The original policy, as currently practiced in other parts of the state, required students to silence or shut off their phones during class periods. However, the new standard will prevent them from using their devices during non-class free time, including lunch.
Members of the public expressed their opposition to the proposal, highlighting a survey that was taken of Broward County students and emailed to the board members showing their disapproval. One speaker explained how the survey provides “meaningful feedback” on why the students believe they should not be banned.
“For example, a student said, ‘As a female, if I have a bathroom emergency, I can quickly call one of my friends to help me out,'” the speaker read. “Another student said, ‘If for whatever reason there is a situation inside the school and there is no one around, a cellphone could quite literally save someone’s life.”
Another speaker argued that if the board passed the proposal, it would be most likely be met with “some dismay and outcry,” as well as a “shock” for many people.
Board Member Allen Zeman said that other big school districts have implemented similar policies and seen a “dramatic improvement” in academic outcomes and mental health.
“As much as I appreciate new data all the time, I didn’t expect students to jump and down and say this is a great thing, but I also have gotten hundreds of emails from our own employees and from parents, and not one of them have said that this is not going to be good for Broward County schools,” he said.
“This is a bold move, we need to be careful about how we train principals and teachers to deal with it, but is going to make our school district a better school district and its no doubt going to improve the mental health of our students,” he added.