Officials call for school phone restrictions in California, South Carolina

(13 Aug 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco - 13 August 2024
1. City bus with hills and homes
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Nathalie Hrizi, parent and teacher:
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"It's clear that California following the lead of other states across the country, along with South Carolina right now, are considering, really pushing for more stringent bans on cell phones in schools across California."
3. Exterior of Galileo Academy of Science and Technology
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Nathalie Hrizi, parent and teacher:
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"It's good for for the governor to be considering the needs of our students and our educators in schools where cell phones can become a really intense distraction. And I know just from my own kids, you know, they're young, they have a cell phone, they really want to be on it all the time. And that can take away from the experience in the classroom. So I do think there should be stricter restrictions."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alameda, California - 13 August 2024
5. Smartphone with TikTok content on screen

ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco - 13 August 2024
6. Exterior of Francisco Middle School
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Nathalie Hrizi, parent and teacher:
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"I mean, as an educator, you know, I had very difficult, interactions with students who answered phones in the middle of class who didn't want to put them away. You know, there are these TikTok and Instagram trends that become very, very disruptive."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alameda, California - 13 August 2024
8. Smartphone with Instagram content on screen

ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco - 13 August 2024
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Nathalie Hrizi, parent and teacher:
"I think legislation banning the use of cell phones during the school day is fair. I think there's very clear evidence that cell phones don't have a great positive effect on our mental health."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rock Hill, South Carolina - 13 August 2024
10. Students in front of periodic table
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsay Machak, spokesperson, Rock Hill School District:
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“A lot of places are talking about cell phone bans, but here in Rock Hill schools we have not banned cell phones. We have simply restricted cell phone usage during instructional time. We still allow a cell phone to be on campus. It just has to be turned off and put away."
12. Students in classroom
13. Classroom notice against cell phones
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Lindsay Machak, spokesperson, Rock Hill School District:
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“What we've heard from teachers is that this has been a really positive change, and it's shown that our kids are reconnecting not only to one another, but also to instruction and to learning.”
17. Teacher talking to students
18. Students talking in classroom


STORYLINE:
California and South Carolina could become the next states to limit cellphone use in schools, with state officials taking up the issue.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending letters to school districts, urging them to restrict students' use of smartphones on campus. South Carolina's State Board of Education took up guidelines to tell local districts to ban cellphone use during class time, but postponed a final vote until next month to take more time to craft the proposal.

The efforts mark a broader push by officials in Utah, Florida, Louisiana and elsewhere to try to limit cellphone use in schools in order to reduce distractions in the classroom — and address the impacts of social media on the mental health of children and teens.










state guidelines.








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