INDIANAPOLIS — A cellphone ban during class time is coming to your child's school.
Gov. Eric Holcomb just signed this legislation into law last week. It takes effect next school year, and lawmakers who crafted it aim to boost student engagement and cut down on distractions during instructional time in school.
Mooresville Schools has had a nearly identical policy for several years now.
It's been in place the entire time Rachel Harshman has had her cellphone. Like most teenagers, she loves using it to stay connected. Most of the time, it's within an arm's reach.
"It's a way to stay connected to not only our parents, but our friends and what's going on around us," Harshman said. "Something big happens and the first notification you get is your cellphone. Like, that's just how we've grown up."
But she's also grown up with a policy in Mooresville where cellphones are banned during instructional time at school.
Not in your pocket. Not on your desk.
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Phones are only allowed if the teacher says it's needed for the lesson or an emergency.
"Because if they can see it, you can see it, and you're more likely to get distracted," Harshman said. "More often than not, it's out of sight, out of mind, and your backpack is usually where we have it."
"We talk to teachers, they're extremely grateful for not having those distractions. You can talk to the kids, of course they're upset because they're not getting all their notifications," Mooresville High School Principal Wes Upton said. "We also did research the past couple of years. There's a lot of stuff out there that shows even just having it in their pocket feeling that vibration causes the anxiety level to go up, their heart rate increases, and then, their attention span's shorter. It's harder to focus on what's being presented. So again, making sure it's completely out of sight, out of mind, but available."
Mooresville's policy mirrors the new Indiana law that takes effect next school year.
All public and charter schools have to prohibit portable communication devices like phones, tablets, laptops and gaming devices during instructional time.
There are exceptions: if a teacher allows those devices for educational purposes, if they're needed for health reasons or in an emergency.
"To be able to use cellphones, laptops, and iPads provides a significant advantage to many students when learning," Mooresville Schools Superintendent Jake Allen said. "We're thankful that we have the discretion to allow those devices to be used for learning purposes, but it's also extremely helpful to also have the ability to tell the students to put those away. The biggest feedback we get from parents is they have access to that cellphone in case of an emergency."
"Because if something were to happen, like, my first text would be to my mom," Harshman said.
Statewide, each district's school board will figure out its own policy and enforcement.
For example, some teachers in Mooresville keep student phones in cubbies or caddies on the wall during class. They're nearby, but not on the students' person.
Others let kids keep the phone in their backpack.
The new state law hopes kids focus on learning, not their phones.
For Harshman, it's worked.
"I love social media as much as the next person," Harshman said. "I like staying in contact. I'm very social, but there comes a fine line, and for that to be a balance and a boundary, I think that's important. At the end of the day, it's going to help us more than it's going to hurt us."