Houston schools set different policies for student cellular phone use

The Houston school board is letting each of the city’s 305 schools set its own policy on students using cellular phones — including camera phones — and the result it a mishmash of different regulations, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle.

In some schools cellular phones —  but not camera phones — are allowed but can’t be used during school hours.  In other schools all cellular phones are banned.  In some schools cellular phones may be used during non-school hours and during lunch.

So it goes.

Personally speaking

Certainly cellular phones — and camera phones — can be disruptive.  Personally, I think cellular phones — and camera phones — should be allowed in schools but students shouldn’t use them during school hours (emergencies notwithstanding).

But I can see where students — and, indeed, parents — could get confused and angry by the different regulations. 

If I were a parent who wanted my child to carry a cellular phone (and I certainly would), but my child was in a school that didn’t permit that — even though other schools would — I’d certainly be angry….angry enough to tell my kid to carry a phone anyway, and be willing to take the school to court if the phone was confiscated.

But I’m just that kind of guy!

Comments

[BL]

It would be silly to sue a school over taking away a cell phone. Maybe you should just home teach your child because you are teaching them not to have respect for authority and to fill the court system up with silly lawsuits.

[Alan A. Reiter]

Craig,

I completely agree. The ground rules would be any child must obey the rules of the school from the standpoint of not using it in class or while in the school

That actually should have been "assumed" in my posting, but I didn't write it. A child should act responsibly and that means not using the phone when it's inappropriate.

If the camera phone is used inappropriately, it should be confiscated and the child punished by the parent in some way.

I believe educational institutions should understand the value of technology, not ban it outright. But technology can be a real disruptive pain during school so ground rules have to apply.

[Craig Plunkett]

I certainly hope you would ask what the circumstances were under which the phone was confiscated, and if your kid was using it inappropriately, you'd of course apologize to the school for his or her behavior, and see to it that they didn't use the phone in a disruptive manner again, yes?