North Carolina schools consider stricter no-cellphone policy, Student Safety Council debates

A no cellphone policy was the first order of business for the new student safety advisory council in North Carolina.

The council, created by an executive order issued by Governor Josh Stein, held its first meeting Monday. 

Conversations centered around how strict the new cellphone policy should be, if the policy should go beyond cell phones, if phones should just be kept away during instructional time, and what a no phones policy would look like in an emergency.

The council heard directly from students Monday about their preference. 

“We had a code red last year when there was a lot of stuff going on, and I kind of talked with my mom,” said Malone Bridgers, a senior attending Enloe High School. “I could pull up the news on my phone to know what was for sure going on when all kinds of rumors were kind of swirling around.”  

The cell phone policy bill has been introduced in both chambers of the General Assembly right now. The council has a goal of providing a “Best Practices” guidebook by June 3.