Our governer, Mike Braun, has signed a bill banning cellphones "bell to bell," which means that students won't be able to use their phones during school. It also requires phones to be locked in an inaccessible location (ex. Yonder pouches or specialized lockers) so that students have no ability to retrieve their phones during school hours. This poses a safety risk due to the increased number of school shootings and other emergencies. This bill also protects teachers from being held liable for any means used to take your phone, which means that they can grab your phone straight from your hand and they wouldn’t face any consequences.

 At Jefferson High School, the administrators are allowed to search you if they suspect that you have your phone. They are allowed to treat you the same way they would someone with drugs on them, and are allowed to use metal detectors/“wands” to ensure that you don’t have a phone on you. This bill is far too extreme, and is unconstitutional, infringing on our Fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable search and seizure.

Cellphones are also used during school to document cases of abuse during school, and have been some of the sole evidence of abuse against disabled children during school. To take phones away would be taking away our ability to document abuse against our peers during school hours.

If we get enough signatures, I will be sending the petition to a representative so that they can take the necessary steps to get this law overturned, and come up with an alternative that isn't as extreme.

Articles about the issue

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Youth right​

Harvard study​

Institute for Public Education/British Columbia