Cell phones in classrooms have been a debate since the smartphone became ubiquitous in the early 2010s. Now, a bill to unplug every student in South Dakota has some battery life.
While property taxes have dominated much of the gubernatorial debates to this point, another question governors have addressed is what to do about phones in the state’s schools.
This particular bill is sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Chris Karr, who said cell phones have reached a point of directly hurting the state’s test scores and student performance. He likens this generation’s students’ use of technology to an addiction.
“At least 38 states have enacted a school phone law or policy, 26 have enacted a policy like SB 198," Karr said. "This is a bell-to-bell. What it does, if you look at the language of the bill, it’s very simple and short, but it does say ‘may not use a cell phone during the day.’ However, the school board gets to determine what that looks like.”
The proposal was opposed by the state education lobby and the Department of Education. Secretary of Education Joe Graves said the wrong people are making this decision.
“The issue before us is not whether phones should be eliminated from classrooms, but just who should be making that decision and to what extent that restriction should extend – and the best answer to that is educators at the local level," Graves said. "We believe it because there are few one-size-fits-all solutions, and we believe it because South Dakotans are ornery cusses who don’t want to be told what to do even when father does know best.”
While some lawmakers were unsure of the utility of the proposal, Yankton Republican Sen. Lauren Nelson said the bill doesn’t fit every single school’s needs.
“If this was a year ago, I’d probably have a different opinion, but in my district, in my area, the school have put their policies," Nelson said. "It works for their district. I firmly believe we’re going towards what is best.”
An amended version of the proposal was sent to the floor without recommendation on a 5-2 vote.