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Community Corner

Should Schools Ban Cellphones to Stop Cyberbullying?

The Middletown Moms Council chimes in on the controversial issue legislators are considering at the State House today.

Today, the Rhode Island General Assembly is scheduled to hold a hearing on a proposed bill that would ban cellphones from school property. 

State Senator JohnTassoniJr. has sponsored Senate bill No. 0764. A copy of the bill may be viewed in the image gallery at right.

The idea, reportedly, is to curb the cases of  by taking away the devices that help make these incidents possible.   

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So we ask you . . .

Question: What do you think about banning cellphones from schools to prevent cyberbullying?

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Robyn, Mother 2 daughters, 1 high school and 1 in college

While it is easy to find reasons why we shouldn't ban cellphones in schools, I think it is definitely the way to go. Not only will it help cut down on cyberbullying, but also cheating, drug dealing, sexting and more. I am honestly surprised it has taken this long and that cyberbullying is the impetus for the ban. The biggest question is where will they be allowed? In lockers? Cars? Can we really expect kids to go home and get their phones after school? Will we need to reinstall pay phones so kids can contact their parents? Maybe instead of a ban they should create a way to scramble the signal at schools instead so that the phones just don't work on the premises.

Sarah, Mom of 2 toddlers  

I don't think that removing the cellphones from school is going to prevent cyberbullying. All it takes is one kid to get another kids' cellphone number or email address and the bullying can begin just as easily off school grounds. It may be less frequent during the school day, but it will still happen. And maybe if it is happening at school, the bullies will be more likely to get caught. If they want to talk about banning cellphones, it should be to prevent distractions in class and to focus on learning.

Carmela, Mom of a pre-teen, teen and adult

When I read the articles now being written on the subject, I have to agree with many educators who say that schools across the country and locally already have cellphone policies in place. Our own schools do in our district. Our administrative staff and teachers work hard to abide by the policy but enforcement is a difficult task. This law would do nothing more than hand down yet one more mandate to our schools with no plan in place to enforce it.

We currently ban texting while driving.  Ask your local law enforcement officer how easy that is to enforce. Is the use of cellphones for destructive purposes a problem?  Yes, indeed it is. All you have to do is open your web browser or paper to see that. But is legislating it away the answer? I can't see how it can be.

There has to be a technological solution to a technological problem.

Maybe our legislators can fund a contest to see what inventor out there can build the better mousetrap to solve this problem instead of paying for whatever resources would need to be implemented to enforce this ban. In the vernacular of the kids, I'm just sayin'.

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