A Kentucky lawmaker has introduced a bill that would ban the use of cell phones by public school students during classes. Representative Josh Bray of Mount Vernon said he’s received overwhelming support for the bill, including emails from around the nation after he appeared on Fox News Sunday.
“We need to get cell phones out of the classroom. Whether that means, you know, they need to be put away, they need to be turned off and to be left in lockers. You know, we don’t need kids surfing YouTube and filming Tik Tok videos and all texting their buddies while they’re in class.”
The bill would require school districts to come up with their own policies and Bray said there are exceptions.
“I’ve heard from a few parents who are concerned that in case of emergency that their students wouldn’t be able to, they wouldn’t be able to get a hold of them. You know, we’ve carved that out within the bill to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Bray said HB 38 would also allow students to use their cell phones for instructional purposes. He said Representative James Tipton, who chairs the House Education Committee, was working on a similar bill before the session began and he expects HB 38 to get a hearing in the next few weeks.