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Central Vermont Adult Education backs bell‑to‑bell school cellphone ban in House Education hearing
Summary
A Central Vermont Adult Education representative told the House Education Committee on May 6 that the provider supports a bill banning student cellphone use during the school day, citing cyberbullying and dropout risk.
At the May 6 hearing of the Vermont House Committee on Education, Catherine Kaukstein, executive director of Central Vermont Adult Education, told committee members that her organization supports a phone‑free schools bill with a “bell‑to‑bell prohibition” on cellphones.
Kaukstein said adult‑education programs sometimes see the consequences of in‑school cellphone use—“cyberbullying in the schools as well … and that's a really big cause for dropouts,” she said—linking the issue to student retention and adult‑education pathways.
A committee member asked Kaukstein to confirm Central Vermont Adult Education’s position; she replied that her organization was “in strong support of a phone free schools bill with a bell to bell prohibition on cell phones,” and noted that some students arrive at adult‑education programs after school disengagement.
Committee discussion in the transcript moved on before members took formal action on any phone‑ban proposal; no committee vote or formal referral is recorded in the hearing excerpt.
