From the state capital to an isolated wireless exclusion zone, parents, educators, students, and officials weigh in on West Virginia’s approach.
PETERSBURG, W.Va.—Science teacher Linda Lou Carlson stared at her cellphone. It was pointed at a blue model of an aquaporin—a protein that channels water in and out of cells.
The phone app that pairs with the model’s QR code was taking a little while to work.
“There!”
On Carlson’s screen, molecules of H20 coursed through the structure. A process that keeps us all alive had come to life digitally.
It is the sort of tech-enabled lesson she loves to teach her students at Petersburg High School in Petersburg, West Virginia. Yet, rather than let the students use their own devices, her approach is to pass her own around. She worries about the distractions caused by students having their phones with them during class.
Schools across West Virginia are stepping up restrictions on cellphones in classrooms, backed up by a new law signed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey that easily passed in the state legislature.
The law states that West Virginian students in elementary and secondary schools must keep cellphones, headphones, and earbuds out of sight and detached from their bodies during class, with ringers silenced.
Exceptions do exist for emergencies, disability accommodations, or teacher or administrator approval.
While concerns about student socialization, online bullying, and academic engagement have driven broad support for restrictions in a state that struggles with educational performance, some emphasize the positive side of smartphone access for many students, saying that the law is too rigid.
West Virginians weighed in on the law—from Petersburg and Charleston, to Green Bank, a community that has long lacked cellphone service due to sensitive astronomical research.
A Flexible Approach
West Virginia is one of many states, both blue and red, that have acted to limit or outright ban cellphones in schools. Some states, such as New York, have opted for bell-to-bell restrictions, keeping the whole school day phone-free.
Clare Morell, author of “The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Cell Phones,” told The Epoch Times that school cellphone bans are a rare bipartisan priority in a polarized country. “It has given me a lot of hope,” she said.
