The case against a complete ban

There’s limited research available to date regarding the efficacy of school cellphone bans. Some studies, like one from 2024 at Auburn University, suggest such a policy could improve student engagement and social interactions with some limitations.

However, researchers at the University of Birmingham could not find much of a difference in academic and social outcomes between students who attended schools with cellphone bans and those who attended schools that did not.

School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington said in an interview with Philadelphia Magazine in August that he believes the decision is best made by each school.

“There are parents who feel very strongly that they need to be able to reach their children at all times, and there are others who feel the complete opposite,” Watlington told the magazine. “Cellphones can certainly be a distraction, but they can also be a walking library in the classroom.”

Some parents critical of legislative-level cellphone bans also highlight the need to reach their children in an era of school shootings and mass violence.

Santarsiero argued that cellphones, in those instances, may do more harm than good. Some school safety experts might agree.

Santarsiero recalled a time when he was a teacher where an armed robbery several blocks away prompted a lockdown at the school. Unaware of the robbery, he locked the classroom door, gathered his students to the corner of the room, away from the windows, and waited for instructions.

“We did that, and for the next hour and a half, before the incident was resolved, the kids started going on their phones, and they were texting home and really spreading a lot of rumors that turned out not to be true: that there was an armed shooter roaming the halls, that we were in imminent danger. And this was now filtering out to parents,” he said. “It was filtering out to other students, and it was creating a level of anxiety that was not helpful to trying to manage the situation.”

Pennsylvania School Boards Association, or PSBA, opposes Senate Bill 1014.

“While PSBA supports the goal of fostering learning-focused environments, the proposed legislation imposes a statewide, mandatory bell-to-bell ban on student cell phone use—stripping locally elected school boards of the ability to make decisions that best serve their communities,” the association wrote in a statement. “PSBA believes that locally elected school directors are in the best position to make decisions for their school communities concerning the use and possession of cell phones and other electronic devices in schools.”

According to PSBA, the bill “usurps local control.”

“PSBA also has some concerns with the wording of SB 1014, specifically the language regarding restriction of device possession and with the language regarding public comment,” PSBA wrote. “The bill would require schools to establish the manner in which a student’s possession of a device is to be restricted. It is unclear whether this language would require schools to take some sort of action to separate a student from their phone at the start of each school day (such as by purchasing and using lockable cell phone bags).”

Hughes said that officials must acknowledge the “good” that comes with the advancements in communication technology. However, he said the harm cannot be ignored.

“We need to have thoughtful conversations to come up with thoughtful policies that advantages the best of this technology, and minimizes the pain and the hurt that the technology can have on people — especially our children,” Hughes said.

The Senate is scheduled to return to session in January.

• Neronha is Rhode Island’s 74th attorney general. He was sworn in on Nov. 6, 2018.
• During President Donald Trump’s second term, Neronha has sued the president and his administration over 30 times.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, along with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and others, announced Dec. 14 that they were releasing the person of interest originally detained for the mass shooting at Brown University.

Neronha said that tips “led to us detaining a person of interest,” but that the evidence “now points in a different direction.”

“We have a murderer out there, frankly,” Neronha said. 

As attorney general, Neronha and his office will play a large role in the investigation over the shooting. Here’s what to know about the top legal official in Rhode Island.

Who is Peter Neronha?

Neronha is Rhode Island’s 74th attorney general. He was sworn in on Nov. 6, 2018.

As attorney general, Neronha leads an office that “prosecutes criminal cases; represents state agencies, departments and commissions in litigation; initiates legal action when necessary to protect the interests of Rhode Islanders; and oversees the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation,” according to his office.

BENNINGTON — Holiday commemorations extended to the Vermont Veterans’ Home cemetery on Saturday, where community members gathered to honor the service men and women interred there through Wreaths Across America. Among those participating were members of Bennington’s own Civil Air Patrol.

The wreath-laying included an official ceremony, as well as laying wreaths at veteran graves and saying the veterans’ names out loud.

“So many Vermonters have sacrificed to serve in our Armed Forces. Sponsoring a wreath is a sign of gratitude to our veterans – both those who are living and to those who have departed,” said Susan Sweetser, the founder of the Vermont Veteran Moms group for Wreath Across America. “The first year after my daughter, Sgt. Virginia L. Sweetser, passed away and was buried at the Vermont Veterans Cemetery in Randolph, I participated in the Wreaths Across America event in Randolph. I was so discouraged to see that only 250 wreaths had been sponsored for the over 4,000 graves at VVMC. I vowed that I would work to change that. We have come a long way and I am praying that this will be the year that we see all the participating veteran graves covered.”

Wreaths Across America provides wreaths for Veteran graves all over the U.S., including the graves at Arlington National Cemetery.