Connecticut schools could soon face stricter statewide guidance on student cellphone use, with the State Board of Education expected to vote on the issue at a special meeting today in Meriden. The proposal would recommend so-called bell-to-bell cellphone bans and also limit how much time students spend using school-issued technology during the school day.
The measure under consideration would take the form of guidance rather than a strict mandate. According to News 12 Connecticut, the new guidelines would serve as a recommendation for school districts, most of which already have their own policies on cellphone and technology use in place, meaning the change would formalize a direction many schools have already taken.
The move would build on rules that are already widespread across the state. Bell-to-bell cellphone restrictions are currently in place in 70 percent of Connecticut's elementary schools and 71 percent of its middle schools, but only 31 percent of high schools, leaving a notable gap at the upper grade levels where enforcement tends to be hardest.
The guidance comes after a legislative push fell short. A bill to implement a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in Connecticut schools ultimately died this past legislative session. For now, local school districts remain the chief authority on how students' cellphone use is handled, which is part of what the new recommendation is meant to address.
Governor Ned Lamont has been a vocal supporter of getting phones out of schools. Speaking on the program "Power in Politics" back in February, Lamont said the state had moved early on the issue. "We were very early as a state to do this. We got them out of almost all the classrooms," he said of the state's earlier efforts.
But Lamont said classroom-only rules were not enough. He recounted being approached by a superintendent who told him that the second students left the classroom, they were back on their phones in the hallway, making the policy tough to enforce. "Let's get the phones out of the schools. We called it bell to bell," Lamont said, adding that the idea drew strong bipartisan support.
The debate reflects a broader effort in the state. State lawmakers have been pushing to limit phones in schools for some time, arguing that doing so would decrease distractions and increase learning, as Connecticut positions itself among the states taking the lead on the question of cellphones in the classroom.