Education
Finegold Testifies in Favor of Enabling Districts to Ban Cell Phones, Devices in School
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Area Sen. Barry R. Finegold called this week on the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education to advance a bill that would ban student cell phone and other device usage while in school except in certain circumstances such as emergencies. The bill, championed by Sens. Finegold, Julian Cyr and Nick Collins and state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, would require local school districts to restrict “physical access to a personal electronic device by students during the school day,” except in some instances. “With local authority driving, a prohibition on the use of cell phones and related technology, with certain limited exceptions, is a powerful first step in creating what Attorney General Andrea Campbell has called ‘a digital landscape that prioritizes the well-being of our youth,’” Finegold said in written testimony. The bill covers mobile phones, tablets, computers, smartwatches or other electronic devices “not owned or provided to a student by a public school.”
Finegold noted, “Massachusetts is falling behind the 26 other states that have already passed laws in this space, 17 of which have happened this year.