Some parents oppose cell phone ban in this Florida school district | Business

But a survey sent out by a South Florida school district earlier this fall found that nearly one in five parents of more than 70,000 students, teachers and parents surveyed believed the cellphone ban had a negative impact on their students’ well-being.

Among the top concerns of surveyed students and parents was the inability to communicate with family members, especially in emergency situations; This concern runs deep in the region where they live. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School17 people died in a shooting attack in 2018.

Students can use their phones in emergencies and teachers have the flexibility to grant access to children for other reasons, district officials said.

“I don’t think any of us think kids should be on their phones during class,” said Erin Gohl, a district parent and advocate.

“We’re really talking about giving kids tools in times of need,” he added, including allowing students to use their phones for “positive mental health purposes.”

Officials in the Fort Lauderdale area acknowledged that enforcement of the policy has been inconsistent. Some teachers have struggled to monitor students’ phone use and are confronting the reality that for some kids, especially those who don’t have a school-issued laptop, phones can be a necessary tool for accessing online lessons and turning in assignments. Parents argued that their students were better off using phones, helping them coordinate afternoon meeting times, or texting their parents for advice about the school bully.

“I don’t expect students or parents of high school students to say they don’t want their kids to have cell phones,” Broward school superintendent Howard Hepburn said. “The expectation that we will have a hard stop is unreal. It takes time.”

Landyn Spellberg, student advisor for the Broward school board, said phones have many benefits, and the district’s blanket ban doesn’t help students with something many adults are still struggling with: learning how to use technology in a healthy way. .

“I think it’s important to teach students about negativity,” he said. “We do not inform students about these issues.”

___ Kate Payne is an affiliate member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. report for america is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.