At the last Osceola County School Board meeting, a number of students asked the Board to be allowed to use cell phones during lunch, despite a new district policy that does not allow their use from “morning bell to dismissal bell”.
Their main points were that those phones are used to plan and organize events for clubs and for student organizations like Student Council, and that seniors will be turning 18 during the school year and will be adults.
The Board was impressed with the students’ preparation and quoting state statutes about the banning of cell phone use during “instructional time,” and calling lunchtime a “break”. However, parents at the meeting also spoke in favor of the new policy, and the Board and Superintendent Mark Shanoff explained that the research from teachers and principals is that the daylong restriction is the best policy for student achievement, and to follow the new House Bill 379 passed by the Florida Legislature that prohibits phone use during instructional time.
"Scrolling through my phone at lunch has never affected my academic performance," said St. Cloud High student government president and Senior Class president Savannah Morris. "Thousands of students are opposed to this policy for multiple reasons. I think the best thing for our students would be focusing on bigger problems like vaping at school."
She noted over 600 posts to her school's Instagram page, mostly against
“Just in our research, talking to principals, there are fights that are planned for lunchtime, or students will attempt to attend two lunches to be on their phones,” Shanoff said. “There is a tremendous amount of concern that if you open it up at lunch, where does it end? Does it extend to class changes?
“I understand change is hard. At the same time, we have an obligation to ensure the learning environment is free of distraction. We have to support our teachers and principals, and that’s the feedback we’ve received from them.”
