Latest news with #LeighHulsey
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama lawmakers send school cellphone ban to Gov. Kay Ivey
A woman scrolling on a smartphone. The Alabama Legislature Wednesday gave final approval to a bill sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, that would require school boards to adopt policies restricting cellphone use by students during classroom instruction hours. (Getty) The Alabama Senate gave final approval Wednesday to a ban cellphones during school hours in public schools. HB 166, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, would require local school boards to adopt a policy for students to store cellphones during class hours. The bill passed on a 30-2 vote and goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. Much of the discussion on the Senate floor centered around an amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, that would have allowed students to use their phones to contact their parents or legal guardians. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Elliott said that while he 'support[s] what he's trying to do,' constituents told him they were concerned about not being able to reach their children during school hours. The chamber voted the amendment down on a 9-23 vote. 'You're going to hear from parents back home if this passes,' Elliot said to the body. Students can access their phones under three exceptions: if they study under an Individualized Education Plan that allows it, for teacher-approved instruction and for medical purposes. Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, who sponsored a similar bill and handled the legislation in the Senate, said that students can use the school's front office to contact their parents. 'In school systems where this has been implemented, it has worked,' Sessions said. Cellphones can be stored in a locker, car or other storage device so long as they are not on the student's person. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of U.S. high school teachers say that cellphone distraction is a major issue in their classrooms. At least 11 states ban or restrict cellphone use during school hours, according to KFF, and 17 other states have introduced legislation. Ivey in her 2025 State of the State endorsed legislation to ban cellphones in schools, saying that social media is negatively impacting students. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama public school cellphone ban moves closer to Senate vote
Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, at a Senate Education Policy committee meeting on April 30, 2025, in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. The committee approved HB 166, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, Wednesday that bans cell phones in public schools during instructional time. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama Senate committee approved a House bill Wednesday to ban cellphones in schools. HB 166, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, requires public school boards to adopt a policy banning cellphone use during instructional time. The Senate Education Policy Committee unanimously approved the legislation at its last meeting of the 2025 Legislative Session. 'This is the companion bill for the Focus Act,' Chesteen said. 'I know you've put about two years into this, so we look forward to getting it on the Senate floor and passing it into law.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Alabama House of Representatives approved the measure on April 4. The legislation also provides three exceptions for students to use their cell phones: if they study under an Individualized Education Plan that allows it; for teacher-approved instruction and for medical purposes. The House Education Policy Committee approved the Senate version of the bill, SB 92, sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, on April 16. Both bills await final approval from the second chamber. There are four legislative days left in the 2025 session. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Parents react to passage of House bill banning cell phone use in Alabama public schools
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Alabama House of Representatives approved a bill banning students from using their cellphones in public schools on Thursday. However, there are three exceptions listed in the measure. Representative Leigh Hulsey of Helena tells CBS 42 News that the teachers were asking for this. Hulsey said that when you look at the data, cell phone use is hurting academic performance and the students' well-being. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in November of 2023 indicated that 72% of U.S. high school teachers say students being distracted by cellphones is a major problem. Busy mother of twins Tayroya Hawthorne is also a substitute teacher at Minor Middle School. She didn't mince words when asked how she feels about the passage of the bill in the house that would ban cell phone use in Alabama public schools during classroom hours. 'If you can just tell them like put your phone away or keep it in your pocket as long as it's not out,' she explained. 'But as far as you're talking about putting it in their locker turning it off, somebody run up in the school and my baby got to run to their locker to get they phone and risk being shot, I don't agree with it,' she said. According to HB166 students would not be allowed to possess a wireless communication device in any public elementary or secondary school building during the instructional day 'unless the wireless communication device is turned off and stored in a locker, backpack, car, or similar storage location.' Homewood Library Foundation hosting block party 'I feel it's necessary for some children and necessary for some cases, very needed, maybe the kids will learn more,' remarked Jameisha Watson. She has a daughter in the 9th grade at Minor High School, and a 7- and 8-year-old at Midfield Elementary. While supportive of the measure in general, she believes there should be exceptions: 'Some kids actually need a cell phone for safety reasons, so I think for some reasons some kids may need to have it.' While mother of three Tiffany Bennett of Roebuck plans to send her kids to private school, she's supportive of the measure: 'I think it's a great idea,' she said. 'Cell phones are very distracting, especially during classroom work, they just distract the kids, there's just so much going on online, and social media, I'm just excited about it actually.' The bill now moves onto a state Senate committee. Right now, Alabama schools have local control, so school systems make their own rules and policies under their local school board and superintendent. Jefferson County Public Schools policy states that the use of personal wireless communication devices such as cell phones, smartwatches or wearable technology, iPads, iPhones, or other electronic communication devices are prohibited during school hours or while being transported on a school bus without specific authorization by school officials. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to prohibit three-cueing reading method passes committee
Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, stands on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 16, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Hulsey carried the three-cueing system ban for two years. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A bill prohibiting the use of an education strategy known as the three-cueing system received a favorable report from the House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday. The three-cueing system is a method of teaching reading that uses meaning, structure/syntax, and visual cues. Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, the sponsor of the bill, said the system allows children to guess a word based on pictures surrounding it. 'Three cueing does not emphasize phonic based learning and causes students to be overly dependent on visual clues, which leads to guessing or seeking to memorize cues,' Hulsey said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Three-cueing is a teaching strategy that is affiliated with 'balanced literacy,' a compromise between whole language and phonics-based instruction that became prominent in the 1990s, according to the Hechinger Report. Hulsey said the bill is aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Literacy Act. The State Department of Education banned the teaching method at its May board meeting. Chairwoman Terri Collins, R-Decatur, said the system does not teach children what letters mean in the context of words. 'It is very dangerous as far as interfering with how children learn to read,' Collins said. Hulsey carried the bill last year, but it was not voted on in the Senate. An amendment from Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, updated the effective date in the bill from the 2024-2025 school year to 2025-2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
