Latest news with #KathySteinhoff
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Missouri lawmakers pass ban on cell phones in public school classrooms
State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, a Democrat from Columbia, speaks March 5 in the Missouri House (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications). A bill passed by the state legislature Tuesday and on its way to the governor will require school districts to create a policy banning cell phone usage throughout the school day, including during breaks between classes and at lunch. A majority of U.S. adults support cell phone bans during class time, or 68% as recorded in a Pew Research Center poll. But restricting mobile phone use for the entire school day is less popular, with 36% in support. State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, a Democrat from Columbia, filed the cell-phone-ban legislation with restrictions only during instructional time. She wanted to give school boards and charter schools the ability to decide whether or not to place further limitations on cell phones, she told The Independent. Lawmakers decided to pursue the more restrictive policy, and Steinhoff believes students will see benefits academically and socially. 'The statistics really do hold that if we do the (full day), bell to bell, that's going to have the biggest turnaround,' she said. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, roughly 53% of school leaders believe that cell-phone usage has hurt students' learning abilities. And 72% say it has negatively impacted mental health. Many school districts have chosen to enact bans, and states around the country have been increasingly writing bans into law with restrictions passed in at least nine states and 10 states testing the policy in a pilot program since 2023. Missouri's full-day ban would be one of the more restrictive laws, but there are exceptions. Students who need a mobile device to accommodate a disability are exempted, and cell phones would be allowed if there is a safety emergency at school. The legislation also gives school districts and charter schools the ability to decide if teachers may allow students to use cell phones during class. The bill does not require phones to be locked up. School boards will have to decide whether devices will be stowed in designated areas or allowed in students' backpacks. Districts will have to enact a policy during the 2025-2026 school year. The legislation is part of a sweeping education package negotiated in the final weeks of the legislative session. It began as a three-page bill prescribing reporting requirements for school safety incidents. Now, at 138 pages, it contains bipartisan legislation, with multiple provisions aimed at school safety.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Representatives discuss restricting cell phones in Missouri schools
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri lawmakers want students to put away their phones while in the classroom. The ultimate goal is to decrease student distraction by putting down the phone while at school. Representatives sponsoring the legislation said schools would have a say in crafting their own cell phone policy but would require that policy to restrict students using their phones during instructional time. 'The purpose behind these bills is to just try to get our classrooms back to being classrooms,' Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, said. The bipartisan legislation is being sponsored by Steinhoff and Republican Rep. Jamie Gragg, R-Ozark. The two said this creates a positive outcome for students and teachers. 3 arrested for Belleville teen's murder as victim's family mourns 'The teachers that I've talked to have enforced a policy of some sort in their classrooms and have seen homework scores skyrocket; they've seen test scores skyrocket; they've seen attention spans increase exponentially,' Gragg said. 'The cell phone is the new yawn; if I were to step outside this committee and go over to the café, if I pulled my cell phone out, two or three other people will pull theirs out as well.' Steinhoff, a retired teacher, says a cell phone-free environment has a positive outcome for students. 'As somebody that was leading a classroom just two years ago, I can attest to the fact that some of our students really are almost addicted to their cell phones,' Steinhoff said. The legislation allows school districts to make the policy that fits them the best. 'How they are going to do it is up to them, but they will implement a policy where there will not be use of cell phones during instructional time,' Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, said. 'This is probably one of the biggest influxes of unsafety, if you will, coming into our school, and we're trying to say to avoid some of these problems, school districts, you must do this.' School administrators from Cape Girardeau told the House education committee Wednesday they established a zero-tolerance policy for cell phones in their high school last year. Since then, there's been a major culture shift. Police AI program leads to incorrect ID, wrongful arrest 'Even the students, they weren't keen on it at first, but within the week they were like, OK, we see why; we enjoy having these conversations,' assistant superintendent of Cape Girardeau School District James Russell said. The district's deputy superintendent, Brice Beck, said student engagement and social interactions are up, and it's leading to better retention of teachers. 'Salaries are one thing that gets discussed a lot; we can raise salary in my opinion, it's never going to get where it needs to go fast enough, so we have to find other ways to support teachers,' Beck said. Eight other states have already initiated some kind of restriction on cell phone use during school, and another dozen have proposed legislation. The committee did not vote on the bills Wednesday, but could as soon as next week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
