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House Education committee introduces local-control cell phone policy (RS32063)
Summary
The House Committee on Education voted to introduce RS32063, a representative-sponsored proposal asking school districts to adopt cell-phone policies prohibiting wireless device use during classroom instruction while preserving local discretion on exceptions and confiscation/return procedures.
The House Committee on Education voted to introduce RS32063, a one-paragraph model policy that would ask Idaho school districts to adopt written cell-phone rules by Aug. 1 and to include them in district conduct manuals.
The bill sponsor, Representative Jaren Crane, said the measure ‘‘is that simple’’ and emphasized local control: districts would draft policies, the district board of trustees would approve them, and each policy must describe procedures for confiscation and return of devices. Crane said the proposal is a copy of a South Carolina policy and that it ‘‘at a minimum … shall prohibit the use of wireless electronic communication devices in classrooms during the periods of academic instruction.’’
Committee members raised implementation questions about how the bill’s definitions would interact with devices provided by schools and with students who need devices for medical or safety reasons. Representative Harris asked why the bill does not require parental involvement for repeated offenses; Crane said he left those decisions to local boards to account for circumstances such as on-call students or medical needs. Representative Nelson and others warned that the phrase prohibiting ‘‘wireless electronic communication devices’’ could be read so broadly that it would unintentionally bar district‑issued tablets or other instructional devices unless the district’s policy explicitly exempts them.
Representative Hawkins moved to introduce RS32063; the motion carried. The committee recorded Nays for Representatives Plough, Nelson and Wisniewski. The committee chair said the intent is to print the RS and allow public feedback at a future hearing so districts and the public can weigh in.
Committee members also noted parallel legislation at the same time in the House and Senate and asked the chair to consider scheduling hearings so both proposals can be compared at once.
The committee’s action was limited to introducing the RS; no final statute was adopted and districts would not be required to adopt a uniform statewide rule unless subsequent legislation is enacted.
