By August of next year, all Maine school boards will be required to adopt a policy regarding the use of cell phones and other smart devices by students in the classroom, thanks to a recently signed state law.
Originally starting as a push to outright ban smartphones in schools statewide, LD 1234 was later amended to leave the decision on how best to handle the devices up to individual school districts.
This bill was sponsored by Rep. Richard H. Campbell (R-Orrington) “by request” as a service to his constituents, meaning that he himself did not necessarily support the measure as it was originally drafted.
Following a hearing that drew a great deal of public comment, nearly all members of the legislative committee responsible for education policy voted in support of the amendment mandating that Maine school boards adopt a policy on this matter, but leave the details of such policies up to local districts.
The only Education Committee members to reject the bill in its entirety were Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham) and Rep. Kimberly Haggan (R-Hampden).
In testimony offered by organizations like the Maine School Board Association (MSBA) and the Maine Principals Associations (MPA), concerns were raised over the need to maintain local control.
The amended version of this bill appears to speak to those worries, as school boards will be given the latitude to adopt a smartphone management policy that best suits the needs of their students and families.
In its final form, the bill does not mandate explicitly how the boards are to decide or exactly what their policies for student cell phone use at school and in the classroom should say.
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate agreed to adopt the amended version of this bill without taking any roll call votes.
The bill was then sent to Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) desk, where she signed it into law on June 9.
According to Ballotpedia, 21 states have adopted statewide policies restricting or banning cell phone use in schools.
Three states — Alaska, Colorado, and Minnesota — have already adopted policies similar to LD 1234, requiring that all school districts adopt a smartphone policy but not specifying the form that such a policy must take.
