Texas Education Commissioner Says State Should Ban Phones in Schools – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath said Wednesday that lawmakers should ban cellphones in public schools statewide next year.

Morath supported a statewide ban during testimony before the Senate Education Committee, where he called cellphone use “extremely detrimental” to student progress.

“If I had the power, I would ban them in every school in the state right now,” Morath said. “So I encourage you to consider this as a public policy issue for the future for our students and teachers.”

Morath’s comments play directly into a debate raging in school systems across the country, a controversial topic that doesn’t divide sharply along party lines. The commissioner brought up cellphones while testifying about student performance on national and state exams. On the latest state exam, only 41% of Texas students showed adequate math comprehension, a cause for concern among lawmakers Wednesday.

Those who support a blanket ban on cellphones argue that the devices distract students from learning and harm their mental health.

Others worry that cellphone bans prevent young people from taking personal responsibility and communicating with their parents during crises — a growing concern as mass shootings have become more common across the U.S. During the Uvalde school shooting, where a gunman slaughtered 19 students and two teachers, children trapped inside the school used phones to call police for help.

Still, some committee members on Wednesday responded to Morath’s testimony by being open to the idea.

“Mental health is becoming a bigger and bigger issue,” said Sen. José Menéndez, a Democrat from San Antonio. “I like what you said, that if we could get rid of cellphones, you know. I mean, it would help all of us if we could do that. But we can’t. I mean, what would that look like?”

Morath noted that many Texas school districts have already banned cellphones from schools, some completely, while others allow only limited use, such as during lunch or when commuting between classes.

“Administratively, it is perfectly feasible,” he said.

Sen. Donna Campbell, a New Braunfels Republican, said “we will take action” to ban cellphones in the classroom during the next legislative session, but that ultimately it is the school districts’ responsibility to take action.

“Not everything requires legislation,” said Campbell, who proposed a bill last legislative session that sought to ban smartphones from classrooms. “It requires leadership.”

Seventy-two percent of high school teachers nationwide say cellphone distraction is a serious problem in their classrooms, compared with 33% of middle school teachers and 6% of elementary school teachers, according to Pew Research. Seven states have so far passed laws banning or restricting cellphone use in schools, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Lawmakers in California, which has the highest public school enrollment in the country, recently approved a bill requiring school districts to develop policies limiting cellphone use by 2026. But it’s unclear whether Texas, where more than 5.5 million children attend schools, will soon follow suit.

During the Texas Tribune Festival earlier this month, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democratic member of the Austin Public Education Committee, said she doesn’t like cellphone use in the classroom, “but maybe we should leave that up to the school districts.”

“I don’t know,” Hinojosa said. “We’ll have to listen to the debate.”

Representative Ken King, R-Ky., who also sits on the Public Education Committee, said most of the schools he represents have already restricted cellphone use.

“I don’t think we need law for everything,” he said.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune and was distributed in partnership with The Associated Press.