Latest news with #Tisdel
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Polehanki offers Whitmer-backed bill to restrict cell phone use in Michigan schools
Daniel deDuring her 2025 State of the State Speech, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave her support for cell phone restrictions in Michigan schools, with state Rep. Mark Tisdel (R-Rochester Hills) reintroducing his plan to keep school children off their phones and focused on lessons that same day. However, members of the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday will hear testimony on a different proposal crafted by its chair, state Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia). Slated for introduction on Monday, Polehanki told the Michigan Advance her plan was crafted alongside the governor's office and has support from the Michigan Department of Education. While Tisdel's plan would place different restrictions on students based on their grade level, Polehanki's proposal would require a district's school board or a charter school's board of directors to develop their own wireless communications device policy to limit cell phone use during school hours and cut down on distractions. Tisdel's plan would: Prohibit students in Kindergarten through grade 5 from possessing a wireless communication device on school grounds Block students in grades six through eight from using a wireless communication device on school grounds during instructional time, breaks between instruction, lunch and recess. Bar students in grades nine through 12 from using a wireless communication device during instruction time. The school board and board of directors can also implement additional restrictions. 'It's important to me that our bill is not too prescriptive. I do believe that school districts should have control over exactly what their cell phone policies say. School districts know what's best for themselves,' said Polehanki, who taught high school for almost 20 years. Polehanki's proposal also includes exceptions for emergency situations, medical devices and devices included in a student's individualized education plan, and permits a school's principal to create further exceptions. 'I am personally not comfortable with any legislation that would put an outright ban on a cell phone in the era of the school shootings,' Polehanki said. 'I just don't believe in an outright ban, but some schools may choose to do that. But the beauty of this bill is it's up to them,' she said. Heading into the 2024-2025 school year, an increasing number of states began implementing or weighing cell phone bans, with the U.S. Surgeon General issuing two advisories on social media use and youth mental health. Independent Health Policy Organization KFF reports as of March 5, 2025, nine states had banned or restricted cell phone use in schools, while 16 others, including Michigan, were considering restrictions. The Columbia University Department of Psychiatry notes studies have found a link between heavy social media use and depression, anxiety, loneliness, and suicidal ideation. While cell phone use in classrooms can be a problem, cell phone policies do work, Polehanki said. However these policies need to be understood and enforced, she said, and having district-level policy can help that. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School cell phone ban bill introduced in Michigan House
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan House Republicans have reignited efforts to require public schools to crack down on students' use of cell phones, but it remains unclear where these efforts will lead. was introduced last Wednesday and specifically proposes restricting students' use of anything capable of text, email, internet access, voice communication, entertainment, or navigation. These restrictions differ based on student grade level: Students in grades K to 5 would be fully prohibited from having these devices on school grounds. Students in grades 6 to 8 are allowed to have them on school grounds but can not use them during instructional time, breaks between instructional time, lunch, or recess. Students in grades 9 to 12 would be banned from using them during instructional time only. A potential school cell phone ban was considered during the previous legislative session, but nothing was ever signed into law. This time, while the bill was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, no hearing dates have been set for lawmakers to get the ball rolling. State Rep. Mark Tisdel, one of the lawmakers who introduced the bill, says forcing students to check their devices at the classroom door will improve test scores and cut down on bullying and other mental health issues. A major obstacle to the bill? Safety concerns. Parents are worried that if their children's schools were targeted by an active shooter, they would not be able to contact them. However, while Tisdel sympathizes with these concerns, he claims children are actually safer if their parents are not on the phone with them. 'How does that enhance your child's safety?' says Tisdel. 'You want your child's focus on the trained teacher at the head of the classroom.' The effort failed last year, but Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is on board. Several schools in Mid-Michigan have moved to restrict cell phone usage independently of any legislation, including Lansing School District, East Lansing School District, and Williamston Community Schools. 44% of all schools have some policy in place for both middle and high school students. 2025-HIB-4141Download Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
26-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Whitmer to call for cellphone restrictions in Michigan schools during State of the State
Michigan could join a growing number of states to limit cellphones in classrooms. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to discuss the topic during her seventh State of the State address in Lansing on Wednesday. Maysoon Aidem, a mother of two in Oakland County, says she's all for limiting distractions in the classroom but worries about an emergency situation. "If God forbid, anything happens in the schools, and I'm not able to get ahold of my child, I am going to sit there in panic mode waiting for the school officials to reach out to me," she said. Aidem said the issue of phones in schools pops up a lot in conversation, but she hears a real mixed bag as far as solutions. "I remember mentioning it to my husband, and him automatically saying, 'Yes, ban them,' and me feeling like, 'I'm sorry. Wait a minute. No, no. Let's look at the reality of our lives. Let's look at the reality of our culture,'" she said. Currently, Michigan does not have a law on the books that bans cellphones inside the classroom. Republican state Rep. Mark Tisdel introduced legislation late last year to implement a statewide ban, but it didn't pass at the time. "It is not a ban on smart devices or cellphones in schools. It's a restriction or prohibition of use in specific places and specific times," said Tisdel. Tisdel reintroduced his bill on Wednesday ahead of the State of the State address. He says he'd love to see the governor work to pass it or he'd be happy to work in a bipartisan fashion to draft a new version. "I'm absolutely thrilled that the governor is interested in this and sees it as a priority," he said. For Aidem, she feels that boundaries for cell phones need to begin with parents. "Everything starts in the household," she said.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan House passes plan to close 'revolving door' of lawmakers, lobbyists
Lawmakers in the Michigan House passed legislation Thursday which would bar themselves from becoming lobbyists for two years after they leave their posts in the Capitol. Along with state lawmakers, House Bills 4062, 4063 and 4064 would ban executive officeholders, including the governor and heads of state departments, from engaging in lobbying for the first two years after they leave office. Lawmakers and officials also would be banned from receiving compensation for lobbying activities. Lobbyists are individuals who advocate for certain interests to government officials, mostly on behalf of groups or organizations. Backers of the plan argue it will crack down on the so-called lawmaker-to-lobbyist pipeline in Lansing. "We have an opportunity to show Michigan's voters the Legislature is not simply a stepping stone for career advancement," Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester, who sponsored HB 4062, said during a speech on the House floor Thursday. The bills passed with wide bipartisan support. Tisdel noted it's not the first time Michigan lawmakers have attempted to prevent their kind from immediately taking lobbyist jobs, saying similar legislation was passed in the House in Jan. 2005, although it didn't become law. Democrats introduced a bill last year to mandate a one-year 'cooling off' period before a former lawmaker could become a lobbyist, but the Legislation didn't advance through the House. A Detroit Free Press/Eye on Michigan investigation last year found lobbyists spent more than $6.3 million on state lawmakers and officials between 2001 and 2023. Current state law doesn't prohibit lawmakers from joining a lobbying firm focused on Lansing after their term ends. Michigan law does prohibit a lawmaker who resigns before the end of their term from registering as a lobbyist for the remainder of the term. In order to become law, the bills passed Thursday will have to advance through the Michigan Senate and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Public integrity watchdogs have longed panned Michigan's policies for government transparency and accountability. A 2015 report by the Center for Public Integrity gave Michigan an 'F' grade for its lobbying disclosure policies, ranking it 43rd out of 50 states. Most states have some sort of cooling off period for lawmakers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The typical state policy bars lawmakers from becoming lobbyists somewhere from six months to two years after they leave office, the NCSL says, but Florida has the longest cooling off period, prohibiting lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for six years after their term ends. Aside from its lobbying policies, exemptions in Michigan's open record laws also have been scrutinized by transparency groups. The state's Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, allows residents to request records from public bodies. But the state's FOIA law carves out the governor's office and the Legislature, exempting them from public record requests. More: Michigan Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement will step down from Supreme Court Efforts to expand FOIA in Michigan have languished, though. Last year, the Michigan Senate passed bills to subject lawmakers and governor to open record requests, but the measures were never taken up in the House. The Senate made FOIA a priority at the start of the current legislative session in January, again passing measures to expand the law to the governor's office and the state Legislature. Rep. John Fitzgerald, D-Wyoming, introduced an amendment Wednesday to tie-bar the FOIA legislation to the lobbying provisions, meaning one measure could not become law without the other, but the amendment wasn't adopted in the Republican-led chamber. In January, House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, said FOIA is unlikely to be a priority for the chamber this session. 'Don't get your hopes up too much,' Hall told a group of reporters in Lansing on Jan. 9, adding ending the 'revolving door' of lawmakers and lobbyists was a bigger issue for him. The bills passed Thursday in the House seeks to slam that door shut. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan House OKs plan to create 'cooling off' period for lobbying
