HONOLULU (KHON2) — Results from a new state Department of Education survey are raising fresh questions about cell phone use in schools. It also has the Board of Education now deciding what to do to balance concerns on both sides of the issue.
85 percent of Hawaii’s public schools now have written rules governing students’ cell phone use during the school day. But the first statewide survey completed this spring reveals a big divide in how the rules are viewed and whether they’re working.
The DOE conducted two surveys, one of all 257 school principals in the state. The most common policy – phones must be turned off during class, but enforcement varies: 61.9% (159 schools). In fact, some high schools don’t have any written policy at all: 14.4% (37 schools). Those schools reporting it’s not a problem on their campus.
The other survey, called the Panorama Survey, of 24,569 students, teachers, staff and families, found sharp differences. Over half the students (53%) feel the rules are working. But among adults, support drops (23% families, 23% teachers, 12% staff).
Teachers and staff say phones distract from learning or fuel bullying. While students (43%) feel that phones neither help nor hurt their learning.
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“If there were to be a cell phone policy, there would need to be very clear communication in terms of what the process would be for parents to contact their students when there are emergencies,” said Dr. Teri Ushijima, Assistant Superintendent for the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design. “We know the world has changed. Prior to that, there have been processes in place at schools where if a student needed to be contacted, then they have ways of letting the teacher know and the message could be communicated. So it’s really kind of thinking through what would be appropriate. And we want, of course, you know, parents to feel that their child is in safe hands while they’re in school. And that is always the first priority in our school safety for all students.”
There are only 34 states that have a statewide policy on cell phone use in the classrooms.
Some say it’s not needed in Hawaii.
“I don’t want a policy. There’s enough policies already. So I think that if we knew if there were going to be a large problem with cell phones, we’d be hearing about it in the news,” said Susan Pcola-Davis, public advocate and grandmother of two teenage girls. “If you try and create a policy, it’s going to break down. You just have to be able to trust, and teachers need to be able to make up classroom guidelines.”
“We’re still developing and looking at what needs to be done, is these are guidelines so that it is consistent throughout our 250 somewhat schools. And you know, the resources, what needs to be done. So it’s gonna take some discussion in time, but we need to do it and make sure that we do it on a timely manner,” said William Arakaki, BOE Student Achievement Committee Chair.
Board of Education committee members say they hope to have at least a draft of a statewide policy on cellphone use in the schools ahead of the upcoming legislative session.