MONTPELIER, Vt. -
Are you tired of your child constantly on his or her cell phone?
Well some Vermont state lawmakers are hoping to limit students phone use in school.
At the Montpelier High School library students cell phones don't need to be turned off and put away.
"We're encouraging students about how to use them responsibly. Not ban them from certain areas of the school," Montpelier High School principal Adam Bunting said.
In Bunting says they've even become a part of the learning experience.
"You'll see them used in classrooms for polling, polling apps so teachers query students and see where they are and what their opinions are on certain questions. To research. You'll see students taking pictures with their smart phones of notes on boards," Bunting said.
"It's fair to say that students at Montpelier High School get quite a bit of leeway when using their phones at school. But just down the road there's a new bill at the Statehouse looking to limit cell phone use especially in the classroom.
"We want to make sure that they learn to use these devices in an acceptable way," State Rep. Michael Marcotte said.
Marcotte represents Orleans county and has introduced a bill requiring schools to have a policy on cell phones after parents he represents raised concerns.
"One of the parents said his child was using their electronic device to look up answers for a test," Marcotte said.
The bill as written proposes "to prohibit student use of cell phones and similar devices in public schools when classes are in progress."
It goes on to list exceptions such as "that a school board may include reasonable expectations for use of portable electronic devices during lunch or other non classroom times or as a teacher-directed component of a learning experience."
"Leave local control there. Let them decide what's appropriate and what's not," Marcotte said.
Bunting says rather than limitations he would like to see learning opportunities from mistakes.
"I'm not sure that banning the use of cell phones or technology in school is not going to help our students learn how to use technology appropriately," Bunting said.
Marcotte said that in no way would his bill keep students from contacting their parents or guardian in the case of an emergency.
