Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — The legislature is still tinkering with the governor’s plan to require that Iowa school districts adopt policies that restrict students from using smartphones when they’re in classes.
Senator Lynn Evans, a Republican from Aurelia, says the bill is designed to give a nudge to Iowa public schools that haven’t developed a smartphone policy yet.
The bill won unanimous approval in the Senate yesterday (Monday). Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, notes the bill doesn’t prohibit cell phones during class, but calls for restrictions.
The House approved a bill on the topic last week. Monday, senators added a requirement that Iowa’s Education Department provide model cell phone guidelines to schools by May 1st. The policies must be in place on July 1st. Senator Sarah Trone Garriott of Waukee and other Democrats argued the no-cell-phones-in-class requirement should apply to Iowa’s private schools, too.
Republican senators voted down that idea. Governor Reynolds also had recommended that sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students undergo social media training in school, but that proposal was removed from the bill by the House last week.
