Alma, Fort Smith school districts happy with existing cell phone policies - Talk Business & Politics

Alma, Fort Smith school districts happy with existing cell phone policies

by Tina Alvey Dale (tdale@talkbusiness.net) 807 views 

Local school districts are confident they will be able to implement any changes to policies needed in order to stay compliant with state laws governing cell phone usage in Arkansas schools.

Gov. Sarah Sanders announced Wednesday (Jan. 29) the Bell to Bell, No Cell Act legislation that would ban smartphones and other personal electronic devices like smart watches from all Arkansas public schools beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, and Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris, are sponsoring SB 142, which contains the language proposed by Gov. Sanders.

The proposed bill prohibits personal electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, bell-to-bell. Each public school district will be required to publish its cell phone policy on its website, including policies and exemptions concerning cell phones on school property and at school-related functions. Districts are required to provide exemptions for health reasons, Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), after-school extracurricular activities, and emergencies.

“The Alma School District will work with our staff, students, and community to implement any new policies as they are developed and adopted,” said Bryan Duffie, superintendent of Alma Public Schools.

Gov. Sanders launched the phone-free schools pilot program last summer. Participating districts received funding to purchase containers for students to store their devices and experience a phone-free education. Alma has a student handbook policy concerning cell phones. During instructional time, the cell phone is to be in one of two places: In the wall pouches in the classroom or kept in the student’s backpack.

“If the teacher needs the students to use the phone for an instructional purpose, then the teacher can allow use for that purpose only,” Duffie said. “The current policy is working. Principals report that cell phones are not a major discipline or other disruptive issue for us.”

The district anticipates that the reaction to Sanders’ proposal will be met with mixed reactions from its student body.

“We are administering a short survey to students and parents to gather their feedback on the issue,” according to Duffie.

Fort Smith Public Schools started an initiative at the start of the 2024-25 school year in August at all the district’s middle schools, encouraging those schools to work toward adopting a phone-free learning environment. Through that program, students are required to secure their cell phones in their backpacks.

As part of this initiative, Kimmons Middle School and Ramsey Middle School are piloting the use of Yondr pouches to securely store student devices during school hours. The students at Kimmons and Ramsey use the Yondr pouches, which allow students to lock their phones, earbuds, and smartwatches in a secure pouch, which they keep with them during the day.

“Our pilot program, Cell Phone Free Environment, at Ramsey Middle School and Kimmons Middle School, has been positive,” said Allan Marshall, chief communications and engagement officer with Fort Smith Public Schools.

Each of the secondary schools in the district has a cell phone section in the student handbook, and there is a handbook committee that meets annually to discuss the student handbook.

Officials with the Van Buren and Greenwood public schools did not respond to requests for comment.

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