(BISMARCK, ND) – Legislation that would seek to limit the usage of cell phones during the school day has failed in the North Dakota State Senate.
House Bill 1160, which has the support of Governor Kelly Armstrong, Lieutenant Governor Michelle Strinden and other leaders, failed 26-19. It would have prohibited the use of cell phone during instructional time – including during lunch, recess time and in-between classes. Schools would have been responsible for adopting and implementing their own policies, allowing for exceptions if documented by a medical provider or through a student’s individual education program, or IEP.
“Those schools around the country that have enacted a policy of this nature have reported significant improvement with their student population,” Senator Mike Wobbema (R-Valley City) told legislators on Friday.
Velva Senator Paul Thomas says he’s concerned with the bill.
“If I was a school board member, I would vote for this,” he said. “As a legislator, I don’t think it’s our role to tell the school boards what to do.”
Senator Donald Schaible, from Mott, agreed that the decisions should stay locally.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 2354, is working its way through the House.
