WARREN COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee lawmakers return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and banning cell phones in public schools is expected to be a topic this session.
The Warren County school district is helping lead the way with its own policy. School board members decided to start the school year by having campuses go “device-free” because of issues with students being distracted when they’re supposed to be learning.
“This is not a punishment. This is not a ‘we don’t trust you’. This is not a ‘you got to do away with all those electronic devices’. We’re not going back to the Stone Age,” said Warren County Schools Director Dr. Grant Swallows. “It’s really about giving kids an environment to where they can focus, to where they can just be students.”
According to Dr. Swallows, after a spike in discipline rates when they first implemented the policy, they’re now beginning to see an impact with reduced stress on teachers and students.
“We had a custodian that said I used to get run into in the hallways three or four times a week because a kid was on their phone,” recalled Swallows. “She said, ‘You know what, I’ve been run into once this year, and it was because a kid was reading a book.’ And she said, ‘they can run into me anytime if they’re reading a book in the hallways.'”
In fact, Swallows has been called to testify on Capitol Hill as Tennessee leaders consider a ban for all school districts.
“My message to the legislature would be, give the systems the flexibility to fit what they need for their school district. But the tenants that we’ve kind of followed is this a total electronic device prohibition, and it needs to be bell to bell,” detailed Swallows. “We’re not allowing it in the hallways. We’re not allowing it at lunch, because again, if you’re like me, as soon as you pick up that phone, your brain goes to that and then you’re gone.”
The district’s goal was to bring in the Yonder pouches at the beginning of the school year, but they were delayed due to a backlog of orders.
However, the district said they have since received them and are continuing to roll them out.
