SARASOTA, Fla. — The cell phone policy for students in Sarasota might be changing in a big way if one school board member has her way: She wants to ban cell phones in the classroom.
School board member Bridget Ziegler says it’s time -- the policy hasn’t been updated since 2012.
It’s a familiar site, students holding their phones, earbuds in, looking at their screens.
“It occupies a tremendous amount of their time,” says Jeff Gusto, whose daughter is a student at Riverview High School.
Sarasota’s policy is for cell phones to be turned off and out of sight, but Gusto says it’s not enforced.
He says, “It’s not enough. I know my daughter pulls it out in class, she’s told me. It has to be a huge distraction. I think kids would be better off not having them in school.”
Gusto might get his wish, a Sarasota school board member has a similar idea.
“(They will be) banned bell to bell from the beginning of school until the end of the school,” says Sarasota School Board Member Bridgett Ziegler. Her plan actually allows students to have a phone, but there’s a big exception.
She says: “They would not be able to carry it around with them…either stored away in a locker or each classroom have a place for them. The purpose is to enhance learning, the social skills of students.”
Riverview High School student Cale Gerwer says cell phones are sometimes used for learning.
He says, “You can research for papers, the academic cloud helps us learn math equation.”
What about in an emergency? Gerwer says, “I think it’s a bad idea…just in case something happens we’re not allowed to text our parents say I love you.”
Ziegler says she’s worried about that too and how students communicate with parents in an emergency will have to be worked out. Meanwhile, this father has a solution.
Gusto says, “I’d like my daughter to have a flip phone. She can get a hold of me and not use it in class.”
Ziegler will propose her idea at the next school board workshop on Jan. 22. Ziegler says she wants to hear from all stakeholders from teachers to students and parents.
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