A high school in East Texas banned cell phone use during school hours two years ago. Leaguetown still has trouble with students calling parents and texting friends.
Apparently, Leaguetown is not the only school having this problem. However, they are one of the schools that is trying to create a solution to the problem.
Principal Olympia Rainer is interested in buying a cell phone jammer to keep cell phones from operating during school hours of 8:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.
Tara Dominguez, junior, said “What happens if there is an emergency? No one could use their phones. My mom feels more secure when I have a phone with me. This doesn’t seem right.”
Rainer is backed by Superintendent Roland Weeter, who directed the attorney of the school to ask permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to use the jammer, prohibiting all cellular usage during the specified hours. The school cannot enforce something like this without having the okay from the FCC.
District lawyer, Ted Gringot, said “We made the request so we could be ready. If the district moves forward with this proposal, we would like to test the jammer out for a month before we request full approval. We have no idea how effective a jammer would be or the best possible repercussions.”
The school has the $4,000 to spend on the jammer. Gayle Chen, the president of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) claims that the majority of parents are understanding of Rainer’s frustration with cell phone use but do not approve of the jammer. There will be a meeting April 28 to talk about the plan.
“Principal Rainer is frustrated and rightfully so. The students are ignoring the rules. We don’t have to go to such drastic measures as a cell phone jammer, but we do need a solution,” Chen said. There will be a meeting later in the school year with various PTA members to discuss the situation. Chen thinks that students who break the rules should lose their phones for the remainder of the school year. She claims that this has happened in the past, however, and the school found out that by law, they can only keep a student’s phone for three days.
However, many teachers are also against the movement, complaining that their cell phone use will be disrupted. There are some exceptions though. A few teachers are more interested in the success of their students than they are in their personal comfort and accessibility.
According to science teacher Pauline Petals, “It would definitely be an inconvenience for teachers to lose their cell phones during the day. But the inconvenience might be worth it. Several times a week, I am dealing with a cell phone issue. It takes up too much of my class time. Last month, I even had two students texting answers to each other during a test. Cell phone use has gotten out of control.”
FCC spokeswoman Mira Sorno said the district will likely get a one-month approval.
“Several school districts have inquired about jammer approval. It would be good to have a few districts run a short test period,” Sorno said.
Rainer appears to take it upon herself to do what needs to happen in order to better the school and make sure that the students receive the best education. However, in order to do so, she must rid the environment of any and all distractions that pose a threat to their classes.
“This is not a popular idea. I knew that it wouldn’t be when I suggested it, but frankly I am tired of our students violating the rules. My assistant principal works at least one cell phone referral every day. We’ve tried other solutions—fining students who use phones, confiscating the phones and suspending students after the third cell phone referral. None of these worked,” Rainer said. Eventually, a solution to the cell phone problem will come to the district.
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