CALLING FOR A STATEWIDE BAN. ABBY. BOTH LAWMAKERS AND THE GOVERNOR WANT TO ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL. CURB CELL PHONE USE DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. THE QUESTION NOW, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DO IT? WE’RE SEEING MORE AND MORE EVIDENCE POINTING TO CELL PHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA AS THE CAUSE OF DISTRACTION, BULLYING AND LEARNING DIFFICULTIES IN OUR SCHOOLS. ON WEDNESDAY, OKLAHOMA GOVERNOR KEVIN STITT ROLLED OUT THE PHONE FREE SCHOOL CHALLENGE VIA AN EXECUTIVE ORDER. STITT CALLED ON LOCAL SUPERINTENDENTS TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN POLICIES ON WHEN STUDENTS SHOULD AND SHOULDN’T HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR PHONES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. I KNOW EVERY CLASSROOM IS DIFFERENT, SO I WANT OUR TEACHERS, OUR AWESOME TEACHERS, OUR PARENTS, OUR STUDENTS, AND OUR SUPERINTENDENTS TO COME UP WITH CREATIVE WAYS TO REDUCE THE USE OF CELL PHONES. LAST SESSION AT THE CAPITOL, A FEW LAWMAKERS HAD TRIED TO PASS BILLS THAT LIMITED STUDENT PHONE ACCESS. EDMOND SENATOR ADAM PUGH WROTE A BILL THAT WOULD HAVE BANNED PHONES IN SCHOOLS STATEWIDE IN MY EXPERIENCE, IN TALKING WITH TEACHERS AND BEING INSIDE CLASSROOMS, IT JUST IT STILL FALLS ON THE TEACHER TO POLICE THE CLASSROOMS. CLAREMORE SENATOR ALI SIFFORD PROPOSED A PILOT PROGRAM TO GIVE DISTRICTS THE FUNDS TO SET UP AND TEST OUT PHONE FREE SCHOOLS. I WANT TO GIVE STUDENTS THE GIFT OF UNDISTRACTED LEARNING THAT FOR THOSE SEVEN HOURS A DAY, THEY’RE THERE TO LEARN AND LISTEN. NEITHER BILL WAS PUSHED FORWARD. SENATORS DECIDED THEY WANTED TO HEAR MORE PERSPECTIVES BEFORE THEY MOVED FORWARD WITH THE BILL. THAT’S WHY THEY’RE STUDYING THE TOPIC FURTHER NEXT MONTH. ONE FOCUS WILL BE SAFETY CONCERNS THAT COME ALONG WITH TAKING KIDS PHONES AWAY. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND OPINIONS PRESENTED. WE WANT THE BEST POSSIBLE PIECE OF LEGISLATION TO COME OUT OF THIS INTERIM STUDY. SO IT’S NOT JUST WHAT, YOU KNOW. THE CHAIR WANTS. OR ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES WANTS. WE WANT WHAT’S BEST FOR THE KIDS ACROSS THE STATE. AND YOU, MARK, ANDY, IS 5400. AND THE INTERIM STUDY INTO REDUCING PHONE USAGE IN SCHOOLS IS SET FOR OCTOBER 22ND AND OCTOBER 23RD AT THE STATE CAPITOL.
Gov. Kevin Stitt urges schools to find creative ways to limit cellphone use
Gov. Kevin Stitt calls on local districts to create policies to reduce cellphone use in schools, while state lawmakers consider a statewide ban.
Updated: 5:25 PM CDT Sep 12, 2024
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has called on local school districts to develop policies to limit student cellphone use during the school day. On Wednesday, Stitt introduced the Phone Free School Challenge through an executive order, urging superintendents to create guidelines on when students can access their phones.“We’re seeing more and more evidence pointing to cellphones and social media as the cause of distraction, bullying, and learning difficulties in our schools,” Stitt said in a Twitter video. “I know every classroom is different, so I want our teachers, our awesome teachers, our parents, our students and our superintendents to come up with creative ways to reduce the use of cell phones.” Last legislative session, several lawmakers attempted to pass bills to limit student phone access.State Sen. Adam Pugh proposed a bill to ban phones in schools statewide.“In my experience in talking with teachers and being inside classrooms, it still falls on the teacher to police the classrooms,” Pugh said.State Sen. Ally Seifried suggested a pilot program to fund districts to test phone-free schools.“I want to give students the gift of undistracted learning, that for those seven hours a day, they’re there to learn and listen,” Seifried said in January.Neither bill advanced, as senators decided to gather more perspectives before moving forward.They plan to study the issue further next month, focusing on safety concerns related to taking phones away from students.“We’re going to have a lot of different perspectives and opinions presented. We want the best possible piece of legislation to come out of this interim study, so it’s not just what the chair wants or one of my colleagues wants. We want what’s best for kids across the state,” Pugh said.The interim study on reducing phone usage in schools is scheduled for Oct. 22-23 at the state Capitol.Top Headlines What you need to know about the 2024 Oklahoma State Fair before attending Teen accused of murdering his mom in Florida a year after he killed dad in Oklahoma Motorcyclist dead in southwest Oklahoma City crash 2 teenagers die after car crashes into tree and fence over weekend in Edmond Rossen Reports: Severe weather emergency; can you afford home damage?
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has called on local school districts to develop policies to limit student cellphone use during the school day.
On Wednesday, Stitt introduced the Phone Free School Challenge through an executive order, urging superintendents to create guidelines on when students can access their phones.
“We’re seeing more and more evidence pointing to cellphones and social media as the cause of distraction, bullying, and learning difficulties in our schools,” Stitt said in a Twitter video. “I know every classroom is different, so I want our teachers, our awesome teachers, our parents, our students and our superintendents to come up with creative ways to reduce the use of cell phones.”
Last legislative session, several lawmakers attempted to pass bills to limit student phone access.
State Sen. Adam Pugh proposed a bill to ban phones in schools statewide.
“In my experience in talking with teachers and being inside classrooms, it still falls on the teacher to police the classrooms,” Pugh said.
State Sen. Ally Seifried suggested a pilot program to fund districts to test phone-free schools.
“I want to give students the gift of undistracted learning, that for those seven hours a day, they’re there to learn and listen,” Seifried said in January.
Neither bill advanced, as senators decided to gather more perspectives before moving forward.
They plan to study the issue further next month, focusing on safety concerns related to taking phones away from students.
“We’re going to have a lot of different perspectives and opinions presented. We want the best possible piece of legislation to come out of this interim study, so it’s not just what the chair wants or one of my colleagues wants. We want what’s best for kids across the state,” Pugh said.
The interim study on reducing phone usage in schools is scheduled for Oct. 22-23 at the state Capitol.
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