Tennessee Bill to limit the use of mobile phone to schools move before

Nashville, Tenn. (Wztv) – The draft law of the house 0932/Senate of Law 0897 would require districts to adopt a policy that “prohibits students from using wireless communication devices during instructions, except for certain circumstances.”

But not everyone is on board, including some parents.

TC Weber has two boys in the high schools in the Nashville area and prefers to try to teach students how to use phones responsibly, rather than prohibit phones that prohibit directly.

“I think he is between a teacher and a student. I do not think it is necessary for the General Assembly to get involved. It is a little general, a small government control, ”says Weber.

The representative of GOP, William Lambeth (District 44), likes the local control aspect of the draft law.

“There was a certain concern, I think before a school did not have the ability to do this, so it is clear next to the state, so we do not establish a policy for every district in the state,” says Lambeth.

The Democratic representative Sam McKenzie (District 15) ended voting in favor of the bill and agrees that mobile phones can be a great distraction.

However, there are some safety issues about the possibility of calling 911 or communicating with loved ones during an emergency.

“If I can’t reach these phones, because there is an active shooter in the building and, in fact, we need to talk about it is a shame, but I would really like our students to contact their parents,” says Rep. McKenzie.

The superintendent of schools in Hamblen County in East Tennessee already has a very strict mobile phone prohibition policy during the school and would support an even more strict version of the bill.

“Personal devices can undermine safety and have a negative impact on the learning environment in schools in Hamblen County, the halls and cafes in our high schools are much stronger and this is a good thing,” says the superintendent Arnie Bunch Jr.

The draft law will now go before the Calendar Committee and Rules, but there is no time on the moment when this will be heard.

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