CT School Cellphone Crackdown: Patch Poll Results

CONNECTICUT — The results of our most recent Patch survey indicates Gov. Ned Lamont has an overwhelming amount of support for denying Connecticut Public School students access to cellphones in class.

In Patch's wildly unscientific survey, readers weighed in 79-21 percent in favor of restricting student access to phones at times during the school day. Most of those on board with the governor's plan cited "distraction" as the demon which cellphone deactivation would slay.

Lamont first made mention of bogarting student's phones during his State of the State address earlier this month. The governor suggested the use of Yondr pouches or similar technology, which prevents the use of phones in designated areas.

Patch received over 930 responses to our poll.

Those who wanted their children to hold onto their phones cited emergency contact capability as their decision's prime motivator.

A Farmington parent told us, "School shootings are sadly an unfortunate fact of life now, and as we know can happen anywhere. I would not want my child to be without their cellphone in the event of a shooting incident, in case there was an opportunity to call for help. Bullying is also a problem in schools, and sometimes the student may feel that they are in an unsafe situation and that their concerns are not being addressed by the school administration. I want my child to be able to reach me when and wherever they may be if the need arises. There are other ways to reduce and/or prevent the use of cellphones in class rather than confiscating students' phones."

But other parents argued there is a school administration for all that. One Fairfield reader posted, "There is no reason for the distraction. If there is an emergency, the school can contact the parents the same way they contact us if a bus is running late or the school is in lockdown. Any needed technology in the classroom is provided to each student 3rd grade and up."

One reader suggested a more nuanced approach be taken, until such a time presented itself that the state could regulate smartphone use like liquor:

"Allow students to bring an inexpensive flip phone to school which would satisfy parents’ safety concerns, and disallow internet connected smartphones in school. In fact, until Meta, TikTok, etc. improve their age-appropriate security protocols, consider legislation to make possessing an iPhone illegal until a certain age, similar to drinking or driving. Hopefully this would reduce bullying, body-shaming, and teen suicide."

A Clinton reader responded to the survey by telling us the whole discussion was just a bad idea: "I think this decision is best made by educators… they are the experts and they are the boots on the ground. This shouldn't be a crowd decision."

Teachers Sound Off

Quite a few teachers identified themselves as such in their responses, and all were in favor of the governor's initiative.

From Clinton: "As an educator myself, I have seen the distractibility that cell phones present to my students. With other technological tools at their fingertips, like Chromebooks, there is no need for a cell phone to be utilized in the classroom. By removing it, my students can become more engaged and focused on the lesson at hand instead of their own personal devices."

A Middletown educator added some context: "They’re nothing but obtrusive in the classroom. 'But I’m texting my mom' is one of the worst offenses. Enough!"

Another Middletown high school math teacher said he was simply tired of competing with a gadget: "There is no possible way for me to be more engaging than an algorithm that shows you exactly what you want to see or your friends who are blowing up your dms. I can see how my students struggle with basic number skills at the high school level."

A teacher in Windsor who is already required to "bag and tag" a student’s phone if it’s being used during class warned that it creates a situation where students become confrontational with the teacher.

But the alternative?

"I see them becoming zombies, unable to engage with the world around them," the teacher said.

"It has most definitely become an addiction... at all levels of education and life," another teacher, from Waterford, agreed.

The need to swiftly phone home in an emergency is "not a compelling argument," according to one Somers parent. "Students have been managing for hundreds of years without their parents being able to contact them directly while in school. If you call the school office, they can call the classroom directly and get the student on the phone in an emergency. Students will receive any texts from the parents when they turn on their phone during lunch, at the end of the day, etc.."

Sure, but back in the day, mass school shootings weren't a thing. For many parents, the specter of Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Nashville or the nine K-12 school shootings just this year so far in the U.S. looms large.

An Enfield reader was succinct: "There is too much violence in schools and having the children keep [a phone] in their backpacks can help them to call for services in an emergency."

The decision is a clear no-brainer for one Stratford parent: "Unless you can guarantee 100% my kids safety while they are on school grounds, which is impossible, then they should have access to their phones. Will the faculty also be locking their phones away until dismissal?"

It was obvious from the survey comments that, for many parents, their child's phone is their "lifeline," and it won't be dropping into any school Yondr pouch easily, or any time soon:

"If there is an emergency and my daughter can not get to her backpack or wherever they are holding her cell I will be very upset. The purchase of the phone was made so she may communicate with both her father and myself. Given the violence in our schools and the daily threat we must live in, I will not let someone take our lifeline away," a Glastonbury parent said.

"Kids These Days...!"

For some Patch readers, the gap was clearly generational.

A Milford reader reminisced, "When I attended school cell phones did not exist and we got along just fine. If a student needed to contact their parents they can go to the office, guidance or nurse and request to make a phone call… Schools are for learning and cell phones have no place."

"Kids need to focus 100% on their studies," a Meriden reader agreed. "They should not spend this time on useless socializing. They should be taking notes and participating in classroom discussions, These are important years… years needed to develop good habits and prepare for college and the 'real world.'"

…and another thing: "There should also be a strict dress code for kids to follow. The things I’ve seen some of these kids wearing to school would have gotten us sent home to change when I was in school," a New London reader posted.

Cellphone Politics

This being 2024 America, a fair number of responses were purely political, and named names. A Brookfield reader thought the idea of locking down student cellphones smacked of government overreach: "It's not the governor's business. My kids need their phones and are doing well in school. Go away Ned!"

An East Haddam reader shrugged, "Why not, it's just another freedom Lamont is taking away…"

"As a parent, I would like to have access to my child when I need it," an Oxford reader said. "The governor needs to worry about other things and stop being a parent to our children."

Some liked the idea of locking down phones during school, but not the ideator, and let us know:

"…but it's not up to the government to make it a law. Mind your business, Ned," an East Hampton reader admonished.