In response to the inordinate amount of time young Americans spend online, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to curb students’ access to social media sites while at school.
Rather than try to control what students do on their phones, policymakers should be focused on removing them entirely. Other countries show it can be done: France, Italy, the UK and China, among others, have imposed nationwide restrictions on mobile phones in schools. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona should act on the recommendation made by dozens of education researchers and issue an official advisory to school districts calling for an outright ban of phones and press state-level education chiefs to do the same. State and federal lawmakers should provide financial incentives for districts that implement phone-free policies and increase funding for pouches and lockers to store devices for the duration of the school day.
In response to the inordinate amount of time young Americans spend online, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to curb students’ access to social media sites while at school.
In response to the inordinate amount of time young Americans spend online, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to curb students’ access to social media sites while at school.