Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Students get OK to use cell phones

Clark County students will soon be allowed to use cellular phones and pagers during lunch and on school district buses.

The Clark County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to pass a notice of intent allowing students to use cell phones and pagers during lunch periods, or on the bus ride to and from campus, provided the devices are switched off during instructional hours. A final board vote is slated for Aug. 28.

"It's 2003. There are valid safety reasons why students should be allowed to have phones, within reasonable limits," Clark County School Board member Susan Brager-Wellman said after Tuesday's vote.

But "if they abuse it, they could lose it," she said.

Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the district, called the new regulation a reasonable compromise.

"What we've put in writing is what a lot of schools were doing already," Orci said. "We know students have been bringing phones to school all along, and most of them know if (the phones) ring during class or they're fooling around with them they'll get taken away."

District policy doesn't allow school staff to deliver telephone messages to students, which can make it difficult for parents to contact their children during the day, Orci said. With the new policy, students could check for messages during the lunch hour or before leaving campus without disrupting classes, Orci said.

Assembly Bill 138, signed into law by Gov. Kenny Guinn in May, repealed a statewide ban on students having cell phones or pagers on campus, and ordered individual school districts to set their own policies. Under the prior law, established in 1993, it was a misdemeanor for students to bring cell phones or pagers to school.

Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, introduced the bill at the behest of students at Becker Middle School, who drafted the legislation as part of a civics class project.

Samantha Burr, a junior at Basic High School, was pleased to learn of the school's board's new ruling.

The 16-year-old said before the new ruling was issued, she had to hide her cellular phone because she feared her teachers would confiscate it. They did take it from her, twice.

Burr said she found it difficult to contact her parents during school hours to let them know cheerleading practice was running late. And with only a couple of pay phones for 3,500 students, waiting in line to call is inconvenient, Burr said.

"I just found another way to use my phone," Burr said.

Sarah Sems, a junior at Sierra Vista High School, also praised the decision.

If a situation such as the Columbine High School shootings were to occur, cell phones would help students get in touch with their families, Sems said.

Sems' mother, Melina Rivera, said she didn't oppose students having cell phones provided they were turned off during class. But Rivera said she's not convinced all children need the devices and has yet to purchase one for her daughter.

Vo-Tech High School sophomore Michelle Sticka said Tuesday she disagreed with allowing students to bring cell phones to campus. Even with the devices banned, Sticka said her classmates regularly made calls to each other on campus during the day, a trend she considered disruptive and annoying.

"I think school is for learning. Cell phones are just for talking," Sticka said.

Jerry Doty, a senior at Coronado High School this fall, and his friends Jeff Broski and Adam Dunn, who all own cell phones, were not surprised by the plans to allow cell phones at school.

"It seemed like they were going to do it eventually," said Doty, 17.

The teenagers said it was annoying when they would have to hide their phones and find ways to talk without getting caught.

"Sometimes I would go into the bathroom," said Adam Dunn, a 16-year-old senior at Green Valley High School. "I used my phone sometimes, but (teachers) tried to catch you."

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