It’s been more than a year since the Legislature passed and Governor Armstrong signed into law “bell to bell” cellphone restriction in K-12 public schools.
The law requires the cellphones to be stowed and inaccessible to students during the school day.
So...is it working?
"I think it's a resounding success," said State School Superintendent Levi Bachmeier. "I have heard from teacher after teacher about how it has been removing distractions, how they have been able to better engage with their young people and other students.
Bachmeier said he heard from one teacher, who taught his kids how to play pinochle, for the first time in 15 years.
"When they had a little down time, instead of scrolling on social media, they pulled out a deck of cards and started playing pinochle," Bachmeier said.
Bachmeier said the ban is not to downplay the importance of technology.
"The challenge for us is threading the needle, recognizing we have an obligation to equip students with the knowledge on how to use technology," Bachmeier said. "If we're not insuring that any technology used is active, we run the risk of creating really problematic distractions that take them away from the learning opportunities in front of them. So it's all about active use, intentional use, and making sure there is time and space for kids to interact with their teachers and with each other."
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