Students, teachers support Bill to ban mobile phones during the Nebraska school days – Fremont Tribune

Marley Heavy, Center, and her mother, Sarah Helveri, the middle to the right, join State Sens. Daniel Conrad of Lincoln, Rita Sanders of Belvue and Dan Lonovski of Hastings, on the left. Marley Havi, a 15-year-old freshman at the Westside High School in Omaha, was among the supporters of the bill from Sanders and governor Jim Pilen to ban mobile phones during the school day. February 4, 2025 (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

Lincoln – students, teachers and government officials of Nebraska largely testified on Tuesday in favor of a proposal that would ban the use of students’ mobile phones during school, starting this fall.

Legislative Bill 140From the State Senator Rita Sanders of Bellevue, at the request of governor Jim Pilen, will require school districts to adopt policies prohibiting students from using electronic communication devices while on school property or while attending a “school function”.

The proposal, in a large part made by The service of the Prosecutor General of Nebraskawould put a possible application or discipline to the local regions, with multiple exceptions:

• Students whose use of devices is required in accordance with their individual education plan or 504 plan for special education.
• Time for the classroom when it is authorized by a teacher for educational purposes.
• In the event of an emergency or a perceived threat of danger.
• When necessary to monitor or manage the health of the student.
• When definitely appropriate by the school board or otherwise authorized by an appropriate school officer.

School councils will have to adopt the applicable policies until the beginning of the school year this fall.

Sanders, a member of the Education Committee, given the bill, stated that legislators should do everything possible to ensure success in the classroom.

Part of this, according to her, is the removal of “unnecessary distractions”.

“By restricting electronic communication devices in the classroom, we can encourage an environment that promotes focus and academic achievements,” Sanders reports. “We have to prioritize the well -being and intellectual growth of our students.”

Marley Helvi, a 15-year-old freshman at the Westside High School in Omaha, said her area has a Bell to Bell, No Cell policy, which allows flexibility during the school day, such as in the past periods, for the technology that Marley was noted It has become a “constant reality of our lives.”

“That’s how we do everything and it’s part of our culture,” Marley said.

Marley said her policy helped her work faster, leading to more free time at home.

She indicated a survey of common sense, where the time of the teenage screen and between the screen has jumped, to 7 hours and 22 minutes every day for teensS

A 2023 study from the same group He pointed out that 97% of 11- 17-year-old students say they use their phones in some capacity during school hours and deal with their phones about 13 times on the average day.

Dozens of countries have introduced legislation to restrict or prohibit the use of mobile phones in schools and since October nine countries have adopted measures in 2023 or 2024. State educational agencies or state education councils have similarly adopted restrictions during this period.

Brian Maher, State Commissioner for Education, presented the results of a survey of supervisors in 218 school areas between October and November, where more than 80% of the respondents said they already have a policy related to the use of mobile phones. Nebraska has 245 school areas.

From current policies, more than half have been adopted in the last three years because of mental health, academic results, teachers contribution and students’ safety.

About 26% of responding areas prohibit phones during school hours and 56% limited use, allowing it at times, such as at noon or passing periods. No policies allow free use of phones.

Maher said it was the time to take a position regarding the use of mobile phones in schools.

“We are ready to cooperate in any way that you can consider it good,” Maher testifies.

Former State Senator Collby Basket, a registered lobbyist of the Nebraska School Council Association, was one of the two witnesses against 140 lb.

Coash said members of the school council were aligned and understood the connection between the use of mobile phones and the effectiveness of the school, but he noted a few concerns, such as how to ban the phone ban on the functions of the general schools.

The state sensor Dan Lonovski of Hastings, a retired teacher, and Jana Hughes of Seard, a replacement teacher, similarly asked how the legislation would apply to external events such as wrestling matches or basketball games, for example.

Nebraska General Mike Mike Hilgers said the “school function” was not intended to apply for extracurricular activities outside the regular school day. Instead, part of the goal was to cover field excursions. Hilgers said his office was open to technical changes and would offer some of his own.

Marley asked legislators to remove extracurricular activities from the bill and prohibit the suspension or permanent evaluations of the student’s enrollment only for violation of the mobile phone.

“We are all addicted to our phones and research can show this, so we need patience and grace,” Marley said.

Pilen regularly says his position is not mobile phones during the school day, from morning to afternoon. Coush said that if that was the purpose, legislators should clarify the bill.

“If that is the case, I do not know if we are more with the bill, which is where the present state of things is,” Cosush said. “But this is a political decision on the legislature.”

Another desired change from Hilgers, Coash and Tim Royers, President of the State Nebraska Education Association, representing teachers in public schools, was to eliminate the individual approach to teachers and to create a more even approach throughout the country.

Coosh said some school districts have tried the individual approach led by teachers and quickly abandoned it.

Royers said a recent state survey of thousands of teachers found that for 80% of the students surveyed, students were referred to as the main barrier to the teacher’s ability to do his job. However, this was not a fear of physical violence, Roers said, but the need to deal with mobile phones.

Michael Gast of Lincoln, a 24 -year -old teacher, said he had banned mobile phones in a class for two decades. This has been reputable over him compared to other teachers who have different policies, he said, but his approach has led to reduced failures and more commitment.

Royers and Geast said the consistency was key, and Royers said success requires community entrance. Royers praised the proposed legislation for the protection of local control and the prioritization of the feedback of stakeholders. Gast said the legislation “evens out the conditions of play” and could improve behavior.

“Taxpayers, including parents, expect students to learn, not to immerse themselves in electronic communication with peers,” Gast said.

Tyler Moster, a senior at Elkhorn South High School, said she received a phone when she was about 9 or 10 years old, largely because of her safety, she said as a police officer’s daughter.

Tyler said she enjoyed her share of social media, such as scrolling through reels on Instagram or text messages and friends calls, and she uses her phone as an instrument. She said anxiety is when this “instrument” becomes a “weapon”. This includes a negative idea of ​​yourself, online or personal harassment, reduced social interaction and reduction of attention range, Tyler said.

“If we overdo it or use something wrong, everything can come from an instrument to become a weapon,” Tyler said. “And we see that today. We see this in Nebraska, all over the country, and unfortunately I saw him in my school with my friends. “

Tyler pointed to her 13-year-old cousin, who just received her birthday phone. Tyler said she was worried that young students like her cousin would not be able to leave their devices in the future.

Hilgers and Pilen said the focus was mental health. Pilen testified that he had to insist on the bill two years ago when I became a governor, because if adults know how much technology affects them, “just think about how it touches our children.”

“In my opinion, the evidence is crystal clear: our children are injured by their constant exposure to these things,” Pilen said.

“If we cannot attend our children, how, on earth, can you teach?” He continued.

Hilgers, a former state senator, said the legislation would be a profit for all participating, including parents, children, teachers and parents. He said he did not allow his biggest child at 13 to have a phone and it was good that he was the “bad man”.

“If I can be the bad person for all children in Nebraska, I am happy to do it,” Hilgers testifies.

The members of the committee similarly spoke in favor of legislation, such as State Senator Daniel Conrad of Lincoln, a pragmatic progressive, which often encounters garnishes or hilgers. She said she was looking forward to working both under the legislation.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican or an independent,” Conrad told Pillyn. “We are all struggling to find the right balance for technology in our lives, and in particular as parents, when it affected our children.”

State Senator Megan Hunt of Omaha said he could tell schools to get more numeric, as fewer workpieces or textbooks return to their child.

Hunt has expressed some caution whether students can quickly have access to phones in emergencies, such as during school firing. Hilgers said he was open to working on Hunt to make sure these emergencies were addressed.

Conrad has identified the bill as the “exact type of problem solving” on which the state should be focused on, telling Hilgers that it could help students “take a deep breath” and be more supplied in learning.

Pilen said to Conrad: “We are open to language change to ensure that we can have bilateral support.”

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