BEAUFORT, S.C. (WSAV) – Public school students in South Carolina will be a little less connected this coming school year, that’s after the state barred cell phone use in schools throughout the Palmetto State.
The clause was one of a number of funding stipulations that a committee approved during days of negotiations on the state’s $13.8 billion budget.
If they want to receive state funds, public school districts have to adopt the statewide policy, which will be written by the State Board of Education.
“The goal is to improve students’ mental health and reduce bullying both in-person and online,” says Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Dr. Frank Rodriguez. “It does have an impact on students. Students seem to be, for lack of a better word, addicted or overly connected to their devices. And it impacts instructional time for teachers. And and that’s critical.”
Beaufort County School Superintendent Dr. Frank Rodriguez says his county has been working on a cell phone ban even before the State law was agreed to.