(The Center Square) – Wisconsin school boards must create rules banning cell phones during instructional time with a deadline by July 1 after Gov. Tony Evers signed the bill into law Friday.
States across the country have moved to ban cell phones at school or during certain parts of the school.
“It has always been my belief that decisions like this should be made at the local level by local school districts and that we should trust local school boards to work with students, parents and families, educators, staff, and administrators to make decisions that make sense for students in their community,” Evers said in a statement. “That continues to be my position. Nevertheless, my promise to the people of Wisconsin is to always do what’s best for our kids, and that obligation weighs heavily on me in considering this bill, as it does every bill affecting kids that reaches my desk.”
Pew Research showed that an increasing number of adults in the U.S. approve of school cell phone bans, with 74% supporting a ban for middle and high school students during class, up from 68% last fall.
“While I wish the Legislature would have taken a different approach with this legislation, I will never stop fighting for Wisconsin’s kids and working to do what’s best for them, which is why I am signing this bill into law today,” Evers said.
School district-issued electronic devices are exempt from the prohibition, and districts can create an exemption to the prohibition for emergencies, managing a student’s health care, through a student’s individualized education plan, or for educational purposes authorized by a teacher.
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Several Democrats pushed back on the bill as it made its way through the Legislature.
“Wisconsin seems to be the only state where this is a partisan issue,” Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Fox Crossing, said at the time.