TOPEKA (KSNT) – A state-wide task force is recommending the Kansas Board of Education adopt guidelines to completely remove phones from schools.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Screen Student Time overwhelming voted to approve a total ban on phones for all grade levels during the school day.
Earlier this year, the BOE formed the group and tasked them with finding ways to curb rampant phone use in classrooms. The concern is primarily about students’ mental health and ability to learn effectively.
KSNT 27 News asked parents and students to weigh in on the potential ban. Kurtis Wiard, a father to three young boys said he’s done some research on the subject and thinks it’s a good idea.
“I tend to think it would be beneficial to students’ mental health overall from what I’ve read,” Wiard said, “but it’s certainly something that warrants a deeper study.”
Third-grader Marci Barton supports the ban too. She said she never uses her phone at school and thinks kids should focus on learning while in the classroom.
“I think they would only use it for emergencies,” she said, “and not to be bad with the phones in school.”
At the Oct. 17 meeting, one task force member against a full-on ban mentioned concerns with kids not having phones in case of emergency. Another brought up school security experts suggesting it’s actually more dangerous for kids to have phones in those situations.
Any recommendations made by the task force will not necessarily become the standard for schools. Any policy changes are ultimately left up to the district.
The task force will meet one final time Nov. 7 before sharing their findings and making their official recommendations to the BOE.