Student cell phone use in Kansas classrooms under scrutiny by State Board of Education

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Kansas' State Board of Education is seeking recommendations on addressing student use of cell phones in the state's classrooms.

The board issued a press release on Thursday, July 11 on the issue. Dr. Randy Watson, Kansas Education Commissioner, is being requested by the board to form a "blue ribbon task force" charged with making guidance on addressing the non-academic use of phones in pre-K-12 classrooms.

“It’s going to take a concerted effort to address the amount of time our children spend on their own devices during instructional time,” said Melanie Haas, chair of the Kansas State Board of Education. “We as parents and elected officials need to help our children use technology and social media in safer, more beneficial ways.”

The task force will have 30 members consisting of students, classroom teachers, administrators and other education representatives. Watson is requesting at least two state school board members for the task force and a middle or high school principal to serve as co-chairs. Board members are slated to meet in August to go over other details on the task force.

“Then I would like the task force to present their recommendations to the board by November, no later than December,” Watson said. “In addition to addressing how our children are using their digital devices for non-academic purposes while they’re in the classroom, we also need to take a hard look at the impact social media is having on children’s mental health, especially in light of the U.S. Surgeon General’s recent advisory.”

The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued the advisory on June 17. Recommendations from the Kansas task force are expected to give a framework to state board policy or guidance for school districts to address the non-academic use of cell phones by students during class.

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