The Oregon House of Representatives made a move last week that has sincerely good intentions.
The House approved HB 2251, which would prohibit Oregon students from using their smartphones during the school day. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it already has support, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see it actually become a law.
The bill passed the House 36-21 and now moves on to the Senate. (Our local Rep. Jami Cate didn’t vote on it because she was excused.) If you’re wondering where those “no” votes came from, read on.
Do we need a state law to prohibit cellphones? That was a point of contention, according to news reports about the decision. Some Republicans argued this was an overstep on the state’s part and that passing such a bill would create a “slippery slope” to more state control, that it should be handled by local school boards. That is a legitimate concern.
The state legislature and Department of Education have made plenty of moves over recent years that haven’t helped our students. One of the most egregious, in my opinion, was the legislature’s decision in 2021 to shelve the state’s Assessment of Essential Skills requirement for high school graduation: to be able to “read and comprehend a variety of text, write clearly and accurately,” and “apply mathematics in a variety of settings.”
Of course, that one also passed with sincerely good intentions, but what those legislators didn’t comprehend was that pain (like having to learn something under duress) isn’t always a bad thing. But then, my hobby is coaching track.
The initial suspension, agreed upon by legislators, was to last through the 2023-24 school year, but in 2023 the OED decided to extend it through 2027-28 to ensure equity for “marginalized” students.
And we wonder why we rank 45th in the nation in educational achievement.
I cite that example because it reflects the kind of thinking that has pervaded our educational leadership. So while I might have qualms about the state taking the lead on this cellphone ban, I like the intent: Improving students’ focus and their mental health.
According to Rep. Kim Wallen, a Medford Republican who introduced the bill but had bipartisan buy-in for the idea, 17 other states have already reduced student access to cellphones and, notably, some of the most progressive states – California, Minnesota – are among those. According to a recent Associated Press report, nearly every other state in the nation has proposed a similar ban or has a policy recommendation or pilot program in place.
I actually can attest to first-hand experience with cellphones in the classroom. And I can tell those who don’t already know this that the presence of smartphones in classrooms is one of the biggest impediments to educational advancement that exists in today’s world.
As readers may know, I spent a good bit of the year and a half I was away from The New Era as a substitute teacher at our local junior high and high school. Of course, being a sub meant kids would try to take advantage of me as much as possible (which I fully understand since II was a kid once myself).
But by far the biggest distraction I saw in the classroom was cellphones. There were school rules, of course, against their use, but their very existence made it a constant battle to keep kids focused on what they were supposed to be doing.
I have to add that the Junior High cracked down last fall with strict rules that phones had to stay in backpacks, and although I spent less time there, the days I was there I really did not see a cellphone in view (or under a desk).
And guess what: Classes went more smoothly, kids did their work – there was a noticeable difference.
Google “cellphones inhibit learning” and you’ll get an avalanche of testimony and studies that attest to what I just said, with significantly more precision. Essentially, most of them conclude that cellphones in the classroom reduce students’ concentration and disrupt the learning process, resulting in declining test scores and increasing reports of classroom distractions, with low-income students often the most affected.
I’m not blind to the fact that cellphones do have some benefits – I’m sure we can all think of some. But the fact is, in the educational environment, they are an impediment.
Speaking more broadly, if this means legislators are getting serious about turning things around in Oregon K-12 education, it’s a good start, a change in direction toward some common sense.