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Two bills working their way through the N.C. General Assembly during this session would regulate the use of student cell phones in public schools. This is a good thing.
Cell Phone-Free Education, also known as House Bill 87, requires school boards to “adopt a cell phone-free education policy to eliminate or severely restrict student access to cellphones during instructional time.” It allows exceptions if a teacher authorizes the use for educational purposes, if a cell phone is required for a students’ individualized education program or for the student’s health care, according to The Center Square.
Student Use of Wireless Communication Devices, Senate Bill 55, contains similar language. A classroom ban would likely require teachers to collect cell phones in the morning as class begins and return them at the end of the school day, which might be easier for teachers than having to constantly be on the lookout for students secretly using them.
In North Carolina, there is a “wide disparity” in how school districts handle cell phone use in the classroom, Michael Maher, chief accountability officer with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, told The Center Square.
“There is emerging evidence on the negative impact of not only on instruction but on student long-term outcomes on mental health,” Maher said. Social media in particular is “highly addictive.”
Maher added that it’s important to provide adequate funding for school districts to pay for storage devices.
While the N.C. School Board Association has not taken a position on the two pending bills, there’s a lot to like about regulating cell phone use in classrooms.
Another bill in the General Assembly this year would focus on people who drive with a cell phone stuck to their ear, often making them far less attentive to what’s happening on the highway. The Hands Free NC Act – which is co-sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin), who represents Cherokee and surrounding counties – would establish comprehensive restrictions on using wireless communication devices while operating a motor vehicle in the state.
The bill defines a wide range of wireless communication devices – including cell phones, smart watches and portable computing devices – and prohibits drivers from holding these devices, watching videos or texting while driving. The bill creates specific exceptions for emergency situations, such as calling 911, and exempts professionals like law enforcement.
For most drivers, the first offense results in a $100 fine with no insurance points, while subsequent offenses within 36 months increasing to $150 and $200.
The law also prevents local governments from passing additional ordinances regulating device use and requires the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles & Public Instruction to incorporate educational components about the risks of distracted driving into driver education programs. The bill would become effective on Dec. 1, 2025, with a six-month warning period where law enforcement will only issue warning tickets.
Considering how poorly some people handle themselves behind the wheel, anything that forces them to pay closer attention while driving is another good thing – for them as well as the people in the vehicle they just might run into.
– Publisher David Brown