Cellphone sue in school addressed
New state guidance of districts cites benefits but also risks to students
By: Mary Ann Koruth
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... New Jersey's Department of Education has released new guidance to school districts about creating cellphone policies in schools, amid growing concerns over the impact of their sue on students' learning and mental health.
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Currently, New Jersey school districts may create their own polices dictating students' cellphone use while in school, said a letter sent Wednesday [08/28/2024] to district superintendents.
..... while policies should consider the benefits of smartphones - such as accessing digital resources in class - the guidance pointed to research showing the negative impacts of excessive cellphone use on students, including increased anxiety and depression and poorer academic performance.
..... "College students allowed to use cellphones during lectures performed worse on end-of-term exams by a least 5%, equivalent to a half-letter grade reduction," the guidance said, referring to a Rutgers University study that discussed how the "intrusion of Internet-enabled electronic devices (laptop, tablet, and cellphone) had transformed the modern college lecture into a divided attention task."
..... Students who used phones during lecture for non-academic purposes understood the material being taught, but did not retain the information as well as those who did not use phones, the study said.
..... Schools that have placed restrictions on cellphone use, the state said, have seem "improved social interactions, with stunts more likely to engage with each other and their teachers."
..... Still, any new polices should be made after careful consideration and serious dialogue with parents and community members, with clear expectations for communication during emergency situations, the state advised.
..... The state Education Department is convening a "Commission on the effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents," to come up with proposals and methods tor educe an harm caused by unhealthy social media and cellphone use among children and youth.
..... The commission's findings will inform future policy-making and next steps from the sate, it said.
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Members of the public are invited to send comments and feedback about existing cellphone polices in school district to SocialMediaCommission@doe,nj.gov.
..... The move ti mitigate social media effects on kids has spread beyond education circles.
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"Wait until 8th," a community initiative run by a group of parents based in Austin, Texas, asks parents to take a pledge to wait until eight grade before buying their child a smartphone. The program builds support by crating school communities that adopt the pledge to bring to administrators and school boards.
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In New Jersey, the suicide of Adriana Kuch, a 14-year-old student at Central Regional High School in Bayville on February 4, [2024] after fellow students attacked her in a hallway and posted a video Online, led to an outcry.
Ramsey, other districts implementing restrictions
..... Some New Jersey school districts have issued policies requiring students to surrender their phones or drop them into a bag while on premises. Other policies authorized district administrators to seize them.
..... Linden, New Brunswick, East Orange, Pennsauken, Jersey City, Willingboro and Bridgeton school districts sue lock bags for cellphones,
..... In Bergen county, the Ramsey Board of Education is working on an "away for the day" policy that, once implemented would have the youngest kids turning off their phones and keeping them in the backpacks.
..... High schoolers would be required to place their phones in a storage system while in class. The Middletown school district in Monmouth County has implemented a similar policy that takes effect this fall. [2024]
..... Nine states and at least three citywide school districts have moved to cerate restitutions on cellphone sue in schools since 2019, according to a July [2024] report from the Education Commission of the States, a national organization led by state education commissioners, governors and lawmakers.
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The push to regular phone use by kids appears to cross party lines.
..... Florida prohibited student cellphone use during instructional time in 2023. It requires teachers to assign an area for cellphone during lessons.
..... California boards to cerate restrictive phone-use policies, with exceptions for emergencies and for special education students, the report said.
..... New York City Mayor Eric Adams held off on issuing a widely expected cellphone ban throughout its schools, according to comments made this week. [08/28/2024]