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Following a fast-tracked college board vote on Tuesday, Memphis-Shelby County college students will face a extra stringent cellphone ban when courses start subsequent week.
Faculty board members voted unanimously to approve the ban, which explicitly permits Memphis colleges to confiscate units and make use of different disciplinary measures, together with suspensions, in response to scholar violations.
It additionally provides smartwatches to the record of units that must be “powered off and out of sight” throughout college hours. Some board members beforehand expressed concern about how college students can be disciplined if caught with their units.
No additional dialogue adopted Tuesday’s vote.
The brand new scholar cellphone coverage replaces one which the Memphis district first put in place in 2010, and it follows a brand new state regulation that requires all college techniques to undertake a ban on “wi-fi communication units” forward of the 2025-26 college yr. The state regulation mandates exceptions for college kids with medical circumstances or disabilities.
Tennessee’s regulation comes amid a wave of state laws throughout the nation to curb cellphone use in colleges, as analysis grows on the educational and well being impacts for younger college students.
The laws leaves all different particulars about how the ban must be enforced, together with what units to incorporate and the place college students should preserve them in the course of the college day, as much as native college boards.
In response to the brand new district coverage, college students will likely be required to put their powered-off units in “designated places” in the course of the college day, which will likely be decided by the superintendent or a college chief. These places may embody:
- Particular person secured pouches
- Scholar lockers
- Backpacks or purses
- College students’ private vehicles
MSCS has but to supply extra steerage about how the brand new coverage will likely be enforced.
The district’s resolution to incorporate smartwatches on the record of banned units was the results of an modification proposed by board member Michelle McKissack final week.
Stephanie Cole-Farris is the medical providers supervisor for Memphis’ chapter of Youth Villages, a statewide youth psychological well being nonprofit. She mentioned there must be a “pilot section” for college kids as they modify to the state directive, for the reason that district’s mobile phone coverage wasn’t persistently enforced in years previous.
“Our youngsters are born into and introduced up at a time the place we’re very a lot reliant on units all through the day,” she mentioned. “Not getting access to that would create stress, anxiousness, and total, only a feeling of hopelessness and being overwhelmed.”
Cole-Farris additionally careworn the necessity for district leaders to develop a sturdy communication plan for all events concerned, particularly within the case of emergencies.
Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond mentioned final week that his workforce is engaged on such a plan.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Faculties for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Attain Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
