Utah governor wants schools to ban cell phones in classrooms - Axios

Gov. Spencer Cox is calling connected schools to effort compartment telephone bans successful classrooms to amended kids' absorption and intelligence health.

Driving the news: Cox advocated limits connected kids' societal media vulnerability during a quality league Monday.

• School compartment telephone bans could amended learning environments, helium said.
• Lawmakers are besides looking astatine requiring societal media companies to get parental support earlier allowing children to unfastened their ain accounts, Cox said.

Why it matters: Some probe — specified arsenic a 2018 study that Cox cited — person linked societal media vulnerability to slump and anxiety.

• Yes, but: Other studies person shown minimal impact, oregon that the risks of societal media are limited to circumstantial ages.

Reality check: The governor's bureau has small authorization to enact telephone bans oregon necessitate parental consent for societal media.

• Absent legislation, schools are connected their ain to acceptable rules for compartment telephone use.
• Courts person halted immoderate authorities regulations connected societal media companies connected First Amendment grounds — though astir of the statement has focused connected however companies "censor" definite content, alternatively than limiting kids' access.

Details: Cox wants to spot schools prohibition kids from possessing compartment phones successful classrooms, not conscionable utilizing them.

• "There's thing astir having it connected your person, that transportation wherever it's ever adjacent subconsciously, it's conscionable ticking distant and you consciousness that request to look astatine it and spot what's happening due to the fact that possibly you're missing retired connected something," Cox said.

The different side: Parents person fought compartment telephone bans, saying kids request to beryllium capable to telephone for assistance successful the lawsuit of shootings oregon different urgent information issues.

• Some experts, however, accidental frantic calls tin jam connection networks and disrupt kids' attempts to enactment harmless successful the infinitesimal of a crisis.

The large picture: School compartment telephone bans person varied nationally and internationally — but most person failed.

• The National Education Association successful 2016 recovered that much than 70% of schools that forbade compartment phones went connected to reverse their decisions.
• But France and China person some banned the devices nationally for younger kids, and more districts person been considering doing truthful recently.

Of note: Utah's authorities schoolhouse committee required schools to update their compartment telephone policies successful 2019.

• A Taylorsville mediate schoolhouse banned mobile devices this fall.

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