Florida's school cellphone ban stokes controversy in Parkland

More states are looking to ban phones during class.

More than 200,000 students at one of the largest school districts in the nation have started the school year with a major change: no cellphone use allowed.

“I’ve noticed such a big difference in the classroom. Students talk more. They actually do their work,” Dominique Mayorga, a language arts teacher who installed a sleeve in her classroom that can hold around 30 phones, said.

Over the summer, Florida’s Broward County Public Schools made the decision to ban students from using cellphones and other communication devices for the entire school day. Students are to keep phones off or in airplane mode the entire day and relinquish them to designated areas, like Mayorga's sleeve, during class, or face disciplinary action. The new policy, which went into effect in August, quickly sparked debate among parents, students, teachers and administrators.

Critics of the ban have raised safety concerns, arguing it could hamper communication during an emergency. It's a particularly sensitive topic in Broward County after the 2018 Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which is in the district.

Response to the ban was quick. Parents flooded the comments of posts the district made on X and Instagram announcing the changes, circulating a change.org petition asking for the school to reverse the ban. It has garnered over 25,000 signatures.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/school-cell-phone-ban-florida-rcna172352

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