A state lawmaker wants to curb student cellphone use in schools and require parents to consent to their underage children using social media.
“The nature of the smart devices and the connectivity and barrage of notifications from social media sites. This is causing great harm,” said Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, the sponsor of House Bills 5920 and 5921. “It’s reflected in an escalation of loneliness, depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation and actual suicide counts.”
Tisdel proposed the legislation this month amid what has become a heated national discussion about the safety of social media and concern around overuse of devices in schools. Many Michigan public schools are already restricting phones, from all-out bans that require students to keep them in lockers or special pouches during the day to more flexible policies that allow use at break times. A statewide policy limiting device use would follow states like Florida that have already established similar policies.
What would phone proposal do?
Tisdel said his proposal does not amount to a device ban in schools. Instead, it aims to curb the use of phones, particularly when students are in class.
The legislation would require school boards to set a cellphone policy by grade:
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In grades K to 5, students are prohibited from having a device on school grounds.
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In grades 6 to 8, students can’t use devices during instructional time, breaks between classes, lunch or recess.
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In grades 9 to 12, students can’t use devices during instructional time.
Critics of policies that limit students from using phones have raised concerns about school safety. During the November 2021 Oxford High School shooting, which left four students dead, students communicated with their parents during the chilling moments of the attack, and some took video.
But Tisdel said it’s “counterproductive” to think that phones are a means of safety in these times. Emergency responders may not want a flood of 911 calls and the ring of a cellphone in a lockdown situation could alert an attacker to a student’s location.
“If an active shooter is wandering hallways, you certainly don’t want cellphone ringers going off behind a closed door,” Tisdel said. “Bullets can go through doors. Bullets can go through some walls.”
What would social media age verification law do?
Tisdel’s other proposal would hold social media companies accountable for verifying the age of users and would require them to get consent from parents for minors to use platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. It would be up to the state attorney general to enforce that legislation, Tisdel said. Several states have enacted or considered similar proposals, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a Denver-based organization that tracks state bills and laws across the country.
In Utah, a similar law requiring social media platforms to verify the age of its users was blocked by a federal judge after a technology trade organization sued, claiming the law was unconstitutional, The Verge reported.
Both bills are proposals and would have a long way to passage. Neither has yet been considered by a House committee.
Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan lawmaker’s plan would ban cellphones during school class time
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