About 180 of Arkansas’ 237 public school districts will limit students’ phone usage in the upcoming school year as part of a pilot program championed by Gov. Sarah Sanders and state education officials.
The program, announced last month, provides students with pouches to store, but not access, their phones during the school day. Grants for telehealth services to address students’ mental health will also be available to participating school districts.
Speaking at Ardis Ann Middle School in Bentonville Thursday, Sanders said the program’s goal is to address what she says is a link between unrestricted smartphone usage and worse mental health outcomes among students.
“Since smartphones and social media became widespread, suicide rates have tripled among young teens. Self-harm among girls in particular is up 200%, and teenage depression is up 150%. Math, reading and science scores have dropped since smartphones became common, not just in America, but across the entire developed world,” Sanders said.
The program will utilize pouches made by California-based company Yondr for students to store their phones. According to the company’s website, the pouch is locked while in a designated “phone-free area” and is able to be unlocked by exiting the zone.
The company says pouches cost $25 to $30 per student. Arkansas had a total of 475,207 students attending public school in the 2023-24 school year.
Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva says the program was inspired by common complaints from parents and educators.
“It became very clear that our schools want access to more high-quality mental health services, and they want us to help support them with high-quality mental health education, but that cell phones, unanimously across the board with all school districts, are an issue,” Oliva said.
The University of Arkansas Office of Education Policy will conduct a year-long study of the pilot program, surveying students and parents as well as tracking mental health data. Several Arkansas school districts also experimented with phone-free policies in the past school year.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or know someone who is, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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Publish date : 2024-08-08 10:20:00
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