Michigan lawmakers are revisiting a nationally debated topic: what cell phone use in classrooms should look like.
State Representative Mark Tisdel (R-Rochester Hills) told Michigan Public on Wednesday that he is planning on reintroducing legislation that would limit student cell phone use in the classroom after the proposed laws stalled in the state House’s education committee docket weeks before the November general election.
Tisdel said he believes this year feels different for the bill because Governor Gretchen Whitmer is bringing a renewed importance to limiting cell phone use in the classroom.
“A change recently is that Governor Whitmer now sees this as a priority. And I'm absolutely thrilled about that,” Tisdel said. “I'm glad to have her on board and to see that this is something that's needed and wanted in the schools and by the teachers and by administrators.”
Stacey LaRouche, a press secretary for Whitmer’s office, wrote in an email to Michigan Public that Whitmer is expected to call for bipartisan legislation that limits the use of phones in class.
“With increased access to smartphones, students are spending more time on social media, which can have detrimental effects to their mental health and educational outcomes,” LaRouche wrote.
Whitmer’s office also pointed to a recent National Education Association survey that found that 91% of educators surveyed felt that students’ mental health is a serious issue at their school and 75% of educators surveyed said social media is a “serious problem” at their school. The survey also found that 90% of educators surveyed supported policies that limit cell phone use during instructional time at the school district level.
Tisdel also introduced last year’s legislation that attempted to implement cell phone limitation policies for students. The previous House bill would have prohibited students in kindergarten through fifth grade from having a “wireless communications device” like a cell phone on school grounds at all. Students in sixth through eighth grade would be allowed to use such devices only during applicable instruction time, breaks between instructional time, lunch, and recess.
High school students in grades nine through 12 are subject to rules that prohibit them from using a device on school grounds during instructional time. These rules are decided by the board of a school district or the board of directors of a public school academy. Tisdel said the legislation he plans to introduce would be a “very straight carryover” from last term’s bill.
Some Michigan schools have already implemented cell phone bans or limits on their use.
Diminished attention and mental health impacts in the classroom
Some Michigan education leaders are excited about the possibility of limiting cell phone use in the classroom. Liz Kolb is a clinical professor of teacher education and learning technologies at the University of Michigan Marcel Family School of Education. She said screens cause distractions in the classroom no matter the learning environment.
“We know from research that even having a device right in front of the student or near the student — even if you're not using it — can be distracting enough that they're not retaining and recalling as much information from the class lecture or the class activities as they would without the screens,” Kolb told Michigan Public.
Liz Boltz is the program director and assistant professor at Michigan State University’s Master of Arts and Education Technology program. Boltz said a need to limit cell phone use in the classroom is a reflection of a larger issue of users being unable to regulate screen time.
“So attention and focus and device use is just — it's a really big issue, not just for children but also for adults. And it's an issue not just in school, but also at the home,” Boltz said. “... At some point, all of us are going to need to learn how to self-regulate our device use.”
Thomas Morgan, a spokesperson for the Michigan Education Association, said educators across Michigan are excited about locally driven policies that would restrict student cell phone use at schools because it ultimately helps students grow.
“We believe that allowing students to access social media and other apps on their cell phones while they're at school really harms their mental health, interrupts their learning time, and it can stunt their social development,” Morgan said.
Morgan emphasized how cyberbullying can become an issue and impact the mental health of students in the classroom, especially at the middle school and high school levels. He also emphasized that he hopes school districts are given autonomy over cell phone use limitations.
“Every school district is different, and each community requires local solutions that involve frontline educators and parents in the decision-making process,” Morgan said. “And so that's why, again, it's critical that these cell phone policies are developed at the local level.”
Concerns about limiting cell phone use
While some educators might be excited about a state-wide crackdown on cell phone use during class instruction, some Michiganders have concerns about how limiting cell phone use can disproportionately affect students who have less access to technological devices.
“For some students also, a cell phone or a smartphone is the only screen technology that they do have access to inside and outside of school, meaning that they're probably going to be doing homework on their cell phone, potentially typing papers on their cell phone, recording activities for school on their cell phone,” Kolb said. “So, if they have it in school, there's more opportunities for the teacher to show them how to use it productively….”
Tisdel said parents and school administrators’ biggest concern about limiting cell phone use in the classroom is related to school emergencies. He said some families want to have immediate contact with their child at school in the event of an emergency, but he believes the best course for students often doesn’t involve a cell phone.
“I’m a parent. I’m a grandfather. I get that [concern]. If, in fact, there is an emergency at school, the last thing that you want is for your child’s attention to be distracted from the trained adult at the front of the classroom, at the scene of the emergency, and have them talking to you, who might miles away from the scene of the emergency,” Tisdel said.
He also said student cell phone use during emergencies might cause parents to show up to schools while first responders are trying to get to the scene of an emergency, which could slow first responders from taking action.
