California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending letters to school districts, urging them to restrict smartphone use on campuses.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at the opening ceremony for Panda Ridge, the new exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, Aug. 8, 2024, in San Diego.
The efforts mark a broader push by officials in Utah, Florida, Louisiana and elsewhere to try to limit cellphone use in schools in order to reduce distractions in the classroom — and address the impacts of social media on the mental health of children and teens.Districts should “act now” to help students focus at school by restricting their smartphone use, Newsom said in the letter. He also cited risks to the well-being of young people, a subject which garnered renewed attention in June after U.
“Suggesting curtailing cellphone use in schools is a great thing to say,” he added. “What that means for the middle school teacher come next week when many schools start is a very different picture.” “Cellphone usage and social media usage on campus is certainly a serious issue and one that deserves a close examination,” Flint said. “But those decisions are very specific to certain schools and certain communities, and they need to be made at a local level.”
South Carolina lawmakers this summer passed a temporarily one-year rule in the state budget requiring schools to ban student cellphone use or lose state funding. The schools have until the start of 2025 to get their specific rules and punishments for breaking them in place. “The last thing we need is to come up with cellphone polices that are an easy way out for students that might take a suspended day when they need to be in the classroom,” O’Shields said.
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