MARIETTA, Ga. — A local school district could expand its cellphone ban policy to high schools
Marietta City Schools first rolled out the policy for middle school students this fall. The school board will have its first presentation at Tuesday night’s meeting, but will not vote on it.
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The idea of expanding the program isn’t sitting well with some students.
“We’re not happy about it,” said Addison Moreland.
The Marietta High School junior created an online petition that has more than 500 signatures in its first 12 hours. The petition asks for the district to not ban cell phones for students at MHS starting next y ear.
It’s something they knew might have been coming after Superintendent Grant Rivera said this after the middle school ban took affect this fall.
“As we engage our community further we can explore extending it to high school,” he said.
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Rivera said the new policy for sixth through eighth grades where students lock their phones in pouches is working. The district says it keeps the students focused and engaged instead of letting their phones distract them.
But Moreland says some teachers at Marietta High School already ban phones in class, while others use it as a resource.
“…we need our phones for certain aspects of our education,” she said.
The big concern though is safety and being able to communicate with loved ones in an emergency.
One rising senior next year wants her classmates to speak up and be heard: that they want to keep access to their cell phones.
“We just want to make this process as transparent as possible for students and make sure we understand what’s going to happen and what this means for us,” the student said.
Tuesday’s meeting is just a presentation for information about the policy and process. The school board will get input from teachers, students and parents.
A vote to expand or not expand likely won’t come until next summer.
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