Bryan, Texas (KBTX) – A bill was introduced in the Texas Legislature to promote the use of mobile phones in schools.
House Bill 1481 was introduced by Amarillo’s Republican representative Caroline, the only GEN Z member of the state legislature.
The bill would prohibit personal electronic devices on campus that are not used for educational purposes, such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets.
There are exceptions to state education codes for educational uses and medical needs.
The bill gives school districts the flexibility to develop policies that comply with the law, but schools must provide “safe and out-of-glare areas” to store student devices.
The current language of House Bill 1481 does not include funds for districts to purchase the storage supplies they need.
As a result, the Legislative Budget Committee found that the district “thwarts the costs associated with storage containers for student devices.”
Local school leaders have called these past legislative measures “unsupplied missions.”
“This is an additional challenge for us to have the funds to carry out these missions we are currently facing,” said Principal Adrian Johnson, referring to the school safety committee issued by Congress during the 88th session.
Brazos Valley representatives Trey Wharton and Stan Geldes signed the bipartisan bill as co-authors.
Meanwhile, Brazos County Representative Paul Dyson said he was on the fence for voting “yes.”
“I’m not sure if I’m under state orders yet, but I’m sure I love that there’s a certain kind of law coming out that encourages the floor of things public schools want to see, or at least sets it on the floor,” he said.
Rep. Dyson also expressed similar concerns about the bill’s current language supply mandate.
However, he supports the idea of banning cell phones at schools.
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